I’m sitting at my desk today around three, and I’m thinking I need some food. What to do? What to do? I’m trying to not be on the see food diet anymore, so I have a choice of pistachios, apricots, or some grapes. Grapes involve standing up, so that’s right out. Now it’s down to pistachios or apricots, when it hits me. I need a Tsongas Arena burger. As soon as I thought it, I could smell it, and taste it. Visually I could see the ketchup oozing out the side. A quick look to my calendar confirmed it, its mid July. DAMMIT! What makes this “fantasy” even stranger is that the “Paul” has the worst rink food ever. Seriously, one thing the Lowell Devils are lacking, other than fans in general, is good food. The burgers are the most edible thing. Taz will attest to this. Think high school hamburger. Kind of grayish, not really hot all the way through…oh man, I’m getting aroused here again. It makes me think of hockey season all over again. Stupid baseball.

Speaking of hockey, I am pumped Montreal signed Georges Laraque, and Ryan Flinn. Man, if ever there was a reason to keep the current schedule format, this is it. When was the last time the Boston/Montreal rivalry featured two legitimate heavyweights? 90’s? Has to be right? This “rivalry” is more watered down than the cocktails MOL makes me when I’ve had one too many. These two guys will bring some big time toughness to the Habs roster, and I hope Milan Lucic, and Shawn Thornton is ready for them. I would hazard to guess Flinner will be down in Hamilton, but the brass will be glad he’s only a phone call away.

Part of the reason I was watching the Penguins over the last year and a half (OK, a big part) was to watch Georges Laraque. I was at the game this season when he “fought” Zdeno Chara twice. While both fights sucked (they actually were assessed only 1 fighting majors each for two dust ups. I know. Laughable) it was great to see him ask Jeremy Reich to go, and get turned down no fewer than 5 times. Lucic wanted no part of him either, and come to think of it, neither did Thornton. Maybe seeing the Habs 87 times in the regular season will fan some distaste for each other. Here’s hoping they have a nice 400 PIM game while I eat a crappy Garden dog in my Hungry for Hockey seats eh?

I am a Boston Bruins season ticket holder as of Monday afternoon. My buddy George and I were talking at game 3 of the Montreal series this season about how many games we’d been to throughout the season. It seemed to us that the games we had been to, the other was there as well, and the games one of us had missed, the other was there. We got to thinking; perhaps getting a season ticket package might be a more economical way to go. We did some math, and we estimate we were at 20-25 games last season, and it could have easily been more if not for a lack of tickets. Well, we talked it over and it did in fact seem like a good idea, but truth be told, good seats at the Garden are expensive, and I couldn’t justify paying that much money for the seats. In the end, I decided it wasn’t in my best interest.

All of that changed Monday when George presented me with the “Hungry for Hockey” promo the Bruins ran. The promo is Sections 327, and 328, rows 2-15. What you get is the ticket, all you can eat hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, and a bottomless cup of soda (probably remain un used) for $39.00 a game. George e-mailed me in a panic….”Do we want to do this?! Seats are going fast!” Well shit. $1700.00 for the season in pretty good, not great, but pretty good seats. Heck yes. Sign me up. So, if you want to meet George or myself, we’ll be in Section 328, Row 2, Seats 1 and 2.

I gotta say I’m pretty pumped. MOL was not pissed at all by me doing it, and George already said I could have opening night for me and MOL because he has to take all his kids. That’s a bonus. On top of that, I feel pretty good about the team this year. I love them getting Michael Ryder even if he did have a down year. The Bruins had no one to score other than the top line last year, and Ryder now helps that cause. Metropolit being gone might hurt the chemistry, and the “Bruin” mold, but that’s what you have Milan Lucic, Shawn Thornton, and Petteri Nokelainen. Those three will chip in points as well, especially Cheech. I like the forwards a lot with Marc Savard, Chuck Kobasew, Phil Kessel (if he doesn’t get dealt), Michael Ryder, a healthy Patrice Bergeron, and Marco Sturm. Plus the unknown of Blake Wheeler? That’s a very under rated signing, and could pay huge dividends for these guys. They got the toughness covered in Lucic, and Thornton. Defense is pretty good too. Hopefully Alberts can be healthy all year. I was hoping Mike Commodore was in their plans, but oh well. Obviously the question mark is in goal, but I think Timmy Thomas had a stellar year last season and can repeat this year. I’m telling you, watch out for this club, and while you’re at it, swing by Section 328 to say hi. Is it September yet?

To quote John Winger: “And then, depression set in.” After Screwy and I are done drying our eyes, and the last team member has retired to the dressing room to drink from Lord Stanley that’s when it’s real. I am stuck with stupid baseball until September. Oh and the Celtics are in the finals, which is cool I guess, but I really can’t stand basketball. My Celtics fan friends all want me to pick the Lakers in six, because I had the Penguins in six, so they like the reverse jinx angle. So, there you go. I’m predicting the Lakers in six. They are playing the Lakers right? This really sucks. I am glad I have the NHL Network because the AHL finals are still going. It looks like Chicago is going to handle Wilkes/Barre easily though, and then it’ll all really be over. MOL is happy. I am not.

Overall, I think this hockey season was a good one. I didn’t’ write enough here, and that will change next season. I took a new job at work in October, and that on top of buying the house, figuring out how to be a husband, and my love of being in a gin mill, killed my productivity here. For next season I promise more running diaries of the games, and I recently bought a microphone, so I am going to try a Podcast. I think I am turning into a nerd. So, like I said, the season wasn’t bad. The beloved Bruins surprised me. Milan Lucic is my favorite player EVAH, and Shawn Thornton really had some great bouts in the second half of the season. YouTube continues to be a favorite spot. I love the Gillies/Mirasty tilts out there. It was nice to see Gordie Dwyer on American soil for a little bit. I am telling you, there aren’t many guys as engaging and friendly as him. I’d like the AHL to pay more because Lowell could sure use a guy that can skate and hit like him. Oh, and the Devils? They suck. Bad. Plus they are boring. They could use a guy like Dwyer to add some personality. So that’s it for 07-08. I’m really into birding these days (no kidding) so I’ve got my feeder to keep me occupied. I need some more, and a good bird book to help me identify what I am looking at. So far at my feeder I have seen a squirrel, and a chipmunk. Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal, and a bunch of brown birds. Oh, and the fattest Blue Jay since Frank Thomas! HI OH! Congratulations to the Red Wings have a great summer all. I wish it was September.

If you had told me the Bruins were taking Montreal to seven games when the series started, I would have called you a damn dirty liar. Anyone that saw game one would agree. It was so bad; I thought maybe just asking the NHL if they could concede the series then and there wouldn’t have been a bad idea. Hell, they were in a 2-0 hole before 5 minutes had elapsed in the seven game series. For those of you new to hockey and Earth for that matter, that is bad. It didn’t get much better from there. Boston was flat, and looked soundly overmatched. After all, this was Montreal. A team they had lost all eight regular season games to. They weren’t supposed to be in it.

Game two was a bit different. The Bruins had to come out and play a better game than they had in game one. Honestly, short of maybe one of the Bruins having a nervous breakdown and doing a Ned Braden strip tease, game one couldn’t have been worse, so outplaying themselves in game two shouldn’t have been an issue. As it turns out, Boston did play much better, and stayed with the Canadiens. While they lost in overtime, they played a vastly superior one to the egg they laid two nights before. I think maybe if they weren’t in Montreal, and some of the calls that always go Montreal’s way hadn’t been called, maybe things may have been different. Alas, one can’t blame the referees because in the end, the players need to make the plays. The Habs made more, and sent Boston back home up 2-0.

Game three was a do or die situation for the beloved Bruins. I detailed the day here, but I must say again, the mood was electric in Boston. It really felt like hockey was back in Beantown, or at least, thinking of coming back. Boston played very well in game three, especially goaltender Tim Thomas. He saved their bacon a few times, and the boys rewarded him with a big OT win. Had Boston lost that game, it would have been over right then and there. Sure there would have been another game to play, but it wouldn’t have mattered.

With it being a series now, Boston played a very strong game, but lost 1-0 in game four. It was a back and forth affair, and had it not been for some superior goaltending by the very impressive Carey Price, Boston could have made the series 2-2 heading back to Canada. Unfortunately, they didn’t and they headed back up North down 3-1.

The fifth game of the series was when the black and gold faithful really started to believe the Bruins had a chance in the series. At least I did. These guys just wouldn’t go away. Boston outplayed Montreal soundly, and got timely scoring for a change. Phil Kessel’s tally off the rebound was a dandy, and proof to Coach Julien that he got the message from the three game rest. The previously unflappable Carey Price looked rattled, and showed a chink in the armor. Boston had avoided the reaper’s grasp and would come home for game six at the Garden.

How to describe game six to someone that wasn’t there? Imagine if you will its Christmas, and you really want the Millennium Falcon. Before you can get to that though, you get a new bike, a wicked cool Atari system, some really cool Legos, and then finally the Falcon. That’s game six. It was the best hockey game I have ever been to in my life. Boston just wouldn’t go away. They kept coming, and we all believed. When Marco Sturm scored the fifth goal to win it on a beautiful wait-wait-wait play the Garden went CRAZY. I have never heard sound like that before. Pure unbridled joy for the 17,000 faithful.

All of these games had me believing Boston would win it all last night, and for the first 30 minutes of the game, I thought for sure they would. With the exception of the misdirected goal Montreal scored, Boston controlled that game. They were buzzing and making plays all over the ice. Again Carey Price was superb and kept them at bay. In the end, Boston ran out of steam, and Montreal’s superior talent took over. The 5-0 is not a good gauge of how Boston played, but the scoreboard doesn’t say 5-0* the other team played really well.

So the Bruins season is over. While I am sad, I must say, I really enjoyed this year. Marc Savard is so fun to watch. He is a magician when passing the puck. Phil Kessel really improved this season. Shawn Thornton had a superb second half in the fight department. After a slow start, he had some great bouts after the All Star break. And how about Milan Lucic? Who saw this kid coming? He is a God in Boston right now, and will continue to be a fan favorite for years to come.

Some final notes on the series.

1. The NHL has to do something about the amount of diving penalties Montreal took. Maybe make diving a non releasable 2 minute minor? It was getting re god damned diculos after a while.

2. The Habs fans chanting “Go Habs, Go!” during the National Anthem last night should be ashamed of themselves. I know you are passionate about your team and all, but that was a fucking disgrace. Try to act like a normal human being and show some respect for three minutes. I think their disrespect made me want them to lose even more.

3. This Boston team is a couple of pieces away from being really good.

Another Bruins season in the books. It was better than some prior years, and I think they’ll be good next season too. All I can say now, is Go Pens, GO!

Now. We are in it. Thursday night, Boston looked over matched, and very out played. Last night, while flipping between the BC game, and the Bruins, I noticed the Black and Gold had a lot more life. In spite of the overtime loss, they were still in the contest. After returning from the Garden tonight, I think these boys have a chance.

The evening started with the “Dave” special at the Fours. I had a Miller High Life, while George had a Michelob Ultra. We then moved on to the poppers and wings, followed by the Bobby Orr for George, and the Bambino (a ¼ hot dog) for me. Tasty buddy. Causeway Street, and all the surrounding bars, looked like St. Catherine’s St. as there was a shit load (actual attendance number) of Habs fans on the streets. George and I were seated between a group of four Canadiens fans on our right, and another two on our left. Both groups were really cool. The guys on our right had been at Fenway earlier, and the guys on our left had just arrived via car. The left guys were headed back to Canada tonight for work tomorrow, only to return for Tuesday’s tilt back in Boston. That is a hockey fan. I don’t even like driving to Lowell for Devils games, and these guys are going between two countries for their team. Both groups were a fun bunch, and it made it hard for me to want to punch them out.

After we killed a few beers and snacks, it was into the Garden for warm up. I have never seen as many fans in the building for the skate around, and to say the mood was electric was an understatement. Chants of GO HABS GO! and LET’S GO BRUINS!, cropped up everywhere. George and I were seated in section 12 row 7 seats 17 and 18 so we were close enough to see the intensity in everyone’s eyes. Shawn Thornton was at the redline trying to stare everyone down, and Marc Savard flipped about 10 pucks to kids. Milan Lucic has his own cheering section, much like old number 42 PJ Stock did. It was electric in the building, and it was only warm up.

The puck dropped, and it was clear the Bruins were not going to be beaten outright in their own building. They had an intensity and purpose about them that was matched by their old foes from the North. It was an up and down game filled with intensity and desire on both sides of the ice. When Milan scored at 6:57 the place went crazy! His goal was a real goal score4rs goal, and the Bruins faithful couldn’t have asked for a better person to score. Like I said, he is a God in Boston. At the end of the first, “Sheriff” Shane Hnidy, and Guillaume Latendresse had a big disagreement that led to a fight. It wasn’t much of a scrap, as neither landed many of the punches thrown, but I must say Latendresse is a pussy for not taking of the shielded helmet before engaging with Hnidy.

Boston found themselves on the power play to begin the second because Latendresse was given an extra two for roughing plus the five for fighting, but they couldn’t score. Much like the first stanza, it was an up and down affair punctuated by a Tom Kostopoulos goal in which he was damn near killed by a Bruin while tapping in a puck from his side. TK scored a playoff goal, and by that I mean a goal in which he had to fight for all the space given. I hate his guts, and I hate the Canadiens, but I must give props for the goal, and their resilience.

Period three was another back and forth number. Naturally, any shaky call went in Montreal’s favor, and the Bruins could only take it. Scoring chances were a plenty, and Tim Thomas held the fort for the hometown club, per usual. I haven’t been a big fan of his over the years, but this season, he’s really pulled them out of the fire on several occasions. The Hab fan I was seated next to commented as such, and I told him it was the SOP for the Bruins. Get in trouble. Timmy bails us out. Speaking of the Hab fan, that guy was a good guy. We talked a little hockey; and both agreed Carey Price has a great glove. It’s a shame he got a beer thrown on him. I got a little on me too. Here’s what happened. Bruins won, someone threw a half empty brew. Could have hit anyone. It hit him….and a little on me. Oh well.

The OT was awesome, and I want to thank Marc Savard for slamming home the slapper he unleashed on Price. Boston is back alive in this series thanks to him, and I could not think of a better way to spend a Sunday evening. George is working on seats for Tuesday. Hopefully I am the good luck charm, and don’t think I won’t go to Montreal for game seven if I have to. As it was said on the way out by “Sully” or whatever his name was, “I’ve never had a job I couldn’t get fired from for a game seven in Montreal!” Well said “Sully”. Well said.

Happy Birthday to Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe. The man with the sharpest elbows to ever play the game turns 80 today and Gonnblog is proud to wish him good health, and many more to come. This is a man that played hockey at the highest level until he was 52 years old. I will be in a home, drooling, and ranting about how I’ve never seen the Bruins win the Cup when I’m 52, and this guy was still playing hockey. Simply amazing. To celebrate the occasion, please enjoy the video of Boston Bruin 7th player award winner, Milan Lucic scoring a “Gordie Howe Hat Trick.” I love the fact that Milan got his first NHL goal in a game when he had an assist, and a wicked scrap. What a fitting tribute from a kid that is a Gordie Howe prototype, to pot his first goal like he did.

Meantime, things have been crazy over here at Goonblog HQ. We’ve had a lot to do MOL and me, and I haven’t been paying enough attention to this blog. I tell you what; this hockey season has been a great one so far. The beloved Bruins are keeping us entertained enough to keep watching and I think Jack Edwards may have a stroke on air this season.

For those of you not in New England, Jack Edwards is the NESN announcer, and to say he is a homer is an insult to homer announcers everywhere. This guy LOVES the Bruins, and he LOVES the fights, which makes him number one in my book. I can’t decide what I like better. Edwards going mental over a “bad” call or the fact that his partner, Andy Brickley, pays him zero mind when he gets fired up. I want the Bruins to win the cup this season for a couple of reasons, and one of them is to see just how emotional Jack Edwards gets when Zdeno Chara gets handed Lord Stanley’s Cup. Of course it won’t happen, but I can dream.

The first annual Hockey Week in Acton is over. I did four games in four nights, and watched another three on television. The highlight was obviously Saturday’s tilt against Washington. MOL, my brother and I were there for the old time hockey showing in Boston. I actually called it in Halftime Pizza that they would go right off the hop, and damn I am glad I was right. Lucic is now officially a God in Boston. Some other highlights and low lights of the week.

-The woman in Ray Bourque’s entourage in Lowell last Wednesday. I don’t know if it was Chris’s girlfriend, or his daughter, or who the hell she was, but she was easily one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. Jaw droppingly hot.

-Seeing Trevor Gillies wearing the Captain “C” in Worcester Friday night. I don’t think anyone wanted a piece of him. Tom Rowe loves him, and it was cool to see.

-I still can’t get over how disrespectful the Toronto fans were during the National Anthem Thursday.

-Speaking of Thursday. That was the worst game of the week. Here they are in order. Worst to first.
Bruins vs. Toronto
Bruins vs. Washington (Monday)
Bruins vs. Florida
Bruins vs. New York
Albany vs. Worcester
Lowell vs. Hershey
Bruins vs. Washington (Saturday)
Bruins have a lot of games upcoming, and they look out of gas. If they make the playoffs, it’ll be one and done I feel. I am looking forward to the tilt Saturday against Philly. I’d give a lot to be there. Anyone that can hook me up, I’d give them a free Goonblog T-shirt? No?

Mother is in the living room putting the Christmas decorations away with the NHL Network on in the background. She’s getting around in the wheelchair pretty well, and the doctor said she could put 50% weight on her ankle, so she’s allowed to roll around and put her decorations away. I know they’ve been driving her nuts, and she’s been driving me nuts asking me to bring up boxes for her. Up until now, it was a no deal. Now that she’s on the mend, she can have at it. She’ll be back before Sidney Crosby is back from his high ankle sprain he sustained last night. In about an hour I’m dropping her off at the movies with instructions she’s to actually go, and not stand out in front of the liquor store and ask someone to buy her beer.

I mention the NHL network because as I was brining up boxes for her, they were showing the Eastern Conference standings, and it struck me how huge of a weekend this is for Boston. At this point in time, Boston, the Rangers, and Atlanta are all tied with 49 points. New York and Boston play a home and home this weekend. This is a series that has playoff implications in January, and it’s pretty darn exciting. What with the football game Sunday, no one will notice, but still, I’m darn excited.

Boston needs to set a tone early today. I would get the puck deep and start taking the body right away on these guys. Orrsie and Thornton will hopefully be looking for each other to set a tone as well. 2008 Youngstar Milan Lucic, (Congratulations by the way) still has the cage on, so the other duties fall to Jeremy Reich. He’s a guy that hasn’t fought in a while, so hopefully he can get a hold of someone today.

Tomorrow’s game is even more important. New York has had Boston’s number in the MSG, as they have beaten the Bruins there in every contest for 6 years. I think its 6 years…maybe its 4….listen; you want stats, go to the NHL website. Come here for dick and fart jokes. Anyway, their dominance at home will play into the psyche of both clubs coming into tomorrow. In the Rangers’ room, the attitude will be, these guys can’t beat us in here, and in the Boston room, it will be the exact opposite. Can we win here? It’s Original Six, Old Time Hockey. I’m hoping for some real grudge match type victories from the black and gold.

It was hockey week in Acton for me this week, as I got in three live games. I haven’t seen MOL in days, and have been living off beer and rink pizza, but these are the sacrifices one makes to make three games in three nights. One of these days I should write about where to go for good food and drink at all the arenas I have been to. Remind me on that.

The adventure started on Wednesday in Lowell as the Devils took on the Springfield Falcons. I have seen the Falcons a couple of times this season, and they are pretty fun to watch. Robbie Scremp is a great hockey player, and they have Ryan Flinn, who in my opinion is one of the most intimidating looking guys in all of hockey. He just looks mean eh? Apparently, he isn’t mean looking enough for Lowell’s Mark Fraser to want a piece.

Lowell went down 3-0 in a very lackluster start. Fraser had enough and challenged Flinn near the blueline in front of the visiting penalty box. They started out sizing each other up and a little spin cycle action. As they got started, Flinn and Fraser each traded some right hands, and Fraser managed to get the front of Flinn’s jersey up over his face. Sightless, Flinn threw a couple and tried to squirm his head back through the opening so he could see, and try to get Fraser. Fraser didn’t use the advantage of Flinn being sightless as well as I would have liked, but did get a couple in when he had the advantage. When Flinn got his sight back he threw an uppercut that missed by this much, and had it connected, Fraser would have been lights out. Sadly he missed, and that was it. The stripes separated them, and off they went. I call the fight a surprising win for Mark Fraser.

The ending of this game was easily the strangest thing I have ever seen at a hockey game. Evah. Lowell had been down 3-0, but fought their way back to tie the game at 3-3. OT came and went, and they went on to the shootout. With Lowell having a 1-0 advantage and Springfield being down to their last opportunity to force sudden death shootout, Viacheslav Trukhno came in on Frank Doyle with ideas on being the game saver. Well, Doyle looked like he stopped him, as it appeared he put a rebound in the net which is a no no in the shootout. Referee Terry Koharski waived the goal off, but the puck wound up in the back of the net. After conferring with the scorer’s table briefly, he skated over to Lowell’s bench. He must have told them they won because Devil players started pouring off the bench to congratulate Frank Doyle. The Springfield bench was upset and called Koharski over for a little chat. So after a little discussion, Koharski decided that Springfield had in fact scored and he motioned to some of the remaining players on Lowell’s bench they need to get back. So, if you are having trouble following, he changed his mind. Lowell comes back. They go first in sudden death and don’t score. Obviously Springfield comes down and scores on their first sudden death shot, wins the game 4-3.

In all my years of watching hockey I have never seen anything like that. I was under the impression as the referee, even if you blow a call and you know you’ve blown it, you stick to it. One never ever changes their mind right? Truly a bizarre moment in my hockey watching life.

Game two of the week came to me via my good friend and birthday girl Bridget. She e-mailed me Thursday evening and asked if I wanted to go to the Bruins and Capitals game that evening. The answer? Yes. Yes I did. Thanks yo, and happy birthday.

Jimbo and I saddled up for Boston at 5, and arrived at Halftime Pizza at 6. Good timing indeed. With a large cheese secured, and a 25oz. Bud to wash it down we settled in for the fights. The tape of the evening was all Dennis Bonvie, so I was pretty psyched. It was all his fights as a Bruin, and his only NHL goal was on the tape as well. It got me to thinking about the Bruins team of 2000-01, and ’01-’02 when Bonvie was there. Those were a couple of my favorite teams because you could tell they cared about each other, and were very tight. Those guys were always sticking up for one another.

Once inside, we got our seats and the game began. Boston was soundly outplayed in the fist, but Milan Lucic was looking to get a spark going in the building by taking on Capitals defenseman, John Erksine. I thought the fight was a decent scrap. Both guys are very heavy punchers and it showed as Erksine landed a very hard right to Lucic’s temple, and the big 19 year old went down. Win Erksine, and it was the first one I think I’ve seen Lucic lose all season. Nice job though in taking him on and trying to get the boys started. This seems like a good spot to mention, I like the Bochenski for Hnidy swap a lot. Hnidy is a gritty defenseman (which in case no one noticed, is exactly what Boston needs), and Bo wasn’t playing anyway. Good swap.

After the game we went to Sports Grille Boston for 1 (4) and then back to the office so Jim could get his car. Obviously we went to Hooligan’s for a night cap (4) and on home. I left Jimbo in good hands at the bar, and got out of there before I thought Karaoke was a good idea. As an aside, Jimbo was not well Friday and couldn’t come to game three of the week.

This is called a segue. Game three was a Radiators Team event at the DCU Centre. I took my team, and their significant others, as well as honorary Radiator Kara to the Worcester Sharks and Manchester Monarchs. Manchester was killing Worcester, and I am really surprised there were no fights. I thought for sure Worcester would try to start something after going down 3-1, and then 4-1, but nothing. There was even an instance with 2.6 seconds where there was some pushing and shoving where I thought both coaches might give the tough guys a tap, but alas, nothing. All in all, it was an outstanding week. If I wasn’t afraid MOL would leave me taking the van while I keep the dog, I’d do it all the time. But really, do I need to give her another reason?

I feel like the girl at the end of Blair Witch Project right now. You know, I’m so scared…..The Hammer and I are headed to the Bruins right now to watch them take on the Penguins. By train. I hope Laraque gives Lucic a shot at the title. Pray for us. I’m so scared.