Dave

Hockey’s Halfway Point

by Dave on January 8, 2006
in Dave, GoonSquad

ESPN’s Scott Burnside chimes in with a good read marking the absolute middle of the season. What if they were to dole out trophies this weekend as opposed to the end of the season? Who would be on the receiving end of the recognition? Have a look at some of Scooter’s midterm grades, including hat tips to:

– Bryan McCabe’s ‘monster’ year in Toronto.
– Joe Thorton’s strong season despite the "WTF?!" moment we recently endured here in Beantown.
– The rookie race that is Crosby vs. Ovechkin.
– Mike O’Conell and Craig Patrick’s heated competition for the "Change the Sheets" award. Can you guess why I am calling it that?

Will Joe-Joe breathe new life into the Sharks? How long can the Rangers continue to dominate? Can Kovalchuk leave Jagr in the dust? 5 Bruins games, 2 Lockmonsters games and 1 BU game so far under my belt. And there’s really lots of ice time left – I am so, so thankful, but so, so broke. Ah, screw it. Goon ‘er up.

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Once Were Warriors.

by Dave on December 16, 2005
in Dave

First things first. Where the heck is everybody? Chris? Hammer? Has the New NHL put you guys to sleep or what? We have a damn blog to run here. I know you’ve expressed disdain and disgust for the Bruins thus far, but there’s a few other teams, eh? I can’t really talk, and I won’t make lame excuses. Let’s get the momentum going, boys. This is embarassing.

I’ve recently wondered if we picked the wrong year to start a site dedicated to hockey enforcers. If it weren’t for bad timing, I’d have no timing at all, it seems. It would appear that Todd Simpson of the Blackhawks is having similar inklings:

"Hockey players used to be warriors. Now you don’t have to be a warrior.”

What, praytell, do you have to be then? A gazelle? A giraffe on skates? Perhaps past-sell-date Olympic speed skaters will have a new lease on life in the NHL. I’ll tell you though, I’m not too worried. Every NHL and AHL game I’ve been to this year has had a dust up of some sort. It’s not like the boys are playing with bow ties and teacups. I went to the BC/BU contest 2 weeks ago, and even there I saw plenty of hooking and slashing. There’s no reason to panic, and I won’t be lining up for Red Sox Tickets anytime soon.

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Lowell Lock Monsters’ Hat Trick Guarantee!

by Dave on November 12, 2005
in AHL, Dave, GoonSquad

It’s going to be a hot time in the old town tonight. The Lock Monsters take on the Hartford Wolf Pack in Lowell, and the game has an added air of excitement to it as the result of a rather bold claim:

"A Monster will score three, or the next home game is free! The Lock Monsters promise that one of their players will record a hat trick on Saturday, or everyone in attendance will get a free ticket to see Lowell host Albany on November 16^th."

Chris and I will be in the house, so I sincerely hope the Monsters come through with their claim. It’s almost like Dunlop setting a bounty on the head of Dr. Hook. Tonight is also Military Appreciation night, and anyone donating an item which can be shipped overseas to the troops (see list here) will receive another free ticket to the home game against Manchester on the 20th. Hopefully, I’ll be neck deep in free tickys by the time we hit the Brewery Exchange. And beer.

One of us will chime in with a full report tomorrow so stay tuned. And in the meantime have a safe weekend, everyone.

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PowerPoint of Pain – 2005 Fight Photos So Far

by Dave on November 11, 2005
in Dave, GoonSquad

Would you like to see a delightful slideshow featuring the best NHL fights of the 2005 season to date? Of course you would, silly whiskers. So click to see Boulerice batter VandenBussche. Watch transfixed as Iginla gets Moen down in cold blood. Watch helplessly as Mayers hammers Henry. And all in vivid technicolor! Particularly cruel is the Brashear vs. Godard pic – "It’s Raining Pain". Don’t mess with the "other" Donald.

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10 Hockey Violence Lowlights

by Dave on August 31, 2005
in Dave, GoonSquad, Old Time Hockey

Sometimes when the boys drop the mitts and square off, it’s Shakespearean in scope – a chivalrous enforcer coming to the aid of an abused teammate. But as we all know, sometimes the goonery can be malicious, nasty and unwarranted. CBC Sports recently ranked their 10 most noteable dispicable hockey hits:

#1 Retaliatory hit begets All-Star Game
#2 Rocket" Richard’s tomahawk & the ensuing riot
#3 Wayne Maki fractures Ted Green’s skull
#4 Bobby Clarke’s Summit Series chop
#5 Maloney crowns Glennie; crown sticks it to Maloney
#6 The night the lights went out
#7 Hunter ends Turgeon’s playoff run
#8 Jeff Kugel runs wild in OHL game
#9 Gary Suter ruins Paul Kariya’s Olympics
#10 The Marty McSorley trial
#11 Todd Bertuzzi’s sucker on Steve Moore. (Thanks to Greg from Puck Update for keeping us honest.)

Here’s hoping nobody gets seriously injured this year, as there are many proponents of a completely fight-free game waiting in the wings to slap down a host of new rules.

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Is Boston Ready For The Bruins?

by Dave on August 28, 2005
in Dave

My friends and I have been discussing at length our predictions for the NHL’s return to North Station. It’s obviously been an incredible year for sports in this city. Will Hockey return with a slapshot, or be overshadowed by home runs and field goals? Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs is beyond optimistic: "We are looking at increased interest in Boston over what we had historically and we should surpass where we were two years ago in attendance.” Does that mean I’ll no longer be able to buy $30 nosebleeds and then sneak down to the club section? Only time will tell.

The general concensus here at GoonBlog is along the same lines. Although Boston’s other pro sports teams dominated in 2004, and hockey has been off the radar for many moons, there’s still a fanatical Bruins fanbase here that you’d need a simultaneous anthrax/radiation scare to keep away from the rink. And even that is a big ‘maybe’. Interest is going to surpass that of 2003 by leaps and bounds, and the team’s chances are looking up every day. I want to live in a hockey town again!

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Five Dolla Holla!

by Dave on August 25, 2005
in Dave

C-A-N-A-D-A – Have you ever seen a magnetic hill?
C-A-N-A-D-A – Or a lady on a dollar bill?
C-A-N-A-D-A – Betcha never seen the autumn fall.
In Canada, we get to see them all. – Stompin Tom Connors

We can now add a pick-up game of pond hockey to the list of unconventional things you’ll find on Canadian currency (A lady? What are you – nuts?). I returned to the homeland this past weekend for the first time in a while, and noticed this lovely tableau on the latest finskis:

In between frantic visits to the Tim Horton’s in Gananoque, and the poutine producing chipwagons of Portland, I got to flash a little of the local lucre. Since I can’t exactly picture lacrosse on the fiver, and it’s a vast improvement over the old version, I thought I’d point it out to the GoonSquad. But apparently some folks don’t like the new design, especially since it’s much harder to turn Sir Wilfred Laurier into Spock. I wish I were kidding. Regardless, it still buys a whackload of TimBits.

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Lowly Lindros A Leaf?

by Dave on August 11, 2005
in Dave

"The future of the game, the original Next One, now is a penny stock." – Toronto Sun.

There have been some recent rumblings regarding the possibility of Eric Lindros pulling on a white and blue jersey this year. You remember Eric – when he wasn’t being heralded as the next big thing back in the early 90’s, he was pouring beer all over women in Toronto bars. An auspicious beginning to a less than phenom-enal career.

"No player can be more physically dominating. None is so blatantly vulnerable."

Actually it’s a bit more than a rumor at this point – Lindros has been offered 1.6 million for what may very well be his last season in the NHL. 8 concussions have left his net worth to any team greatly reduced. I, for one, hope he ends his career as he undoubtedly wants to – on his home ice and with his noggin in one piece. And you never know – he may go out with a bang. Or at the very least a ninth concussion.

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