one of the greatest things about hockey, is pond hockey. one of the greatest things about pond hockey is that you're playing hockey for one reason, because you love it. otherwise you wouldn't bother lacing up your skates in a snow bank, snot freezing to your face, and crummy ice.
this past weekend, burlington jumped on the wagon and hosted a pond hockey tournament on lake champlain. even though i'm a writer, i still like pictures along with the words. allison, full stride's art department, went to the tournament this past weekend to cheer on dan and to snap a few pictures, and they portrayed what pond hockey is all about much better than i could describe it with words. enjoy.
the hockey season is well underway, and it's safe to say i have officiated close to one hundred games already, from mites on up to college. after i hung up the skates in college, i was stayed away from the game for a while, with the exception of playing some pick up hockey at the outside rinks every now and again. it wasn't until i started officiating that i realized how much i missed being a part of the game.
don't get me wrong, i could play pond hockey until the cows come home, but there are a lot of little things that make a game day pretty cool; the pre game meal, wearing slacks and a tie to the rink, locker room banter with your team mates/officiating partners, the national anthem, and, for me at least, i always like when music is played during warm ups, intermission, and in between whistles.
however, and maybe this is just me getting old, the music i have been hearing lately during the games has been dredfully aweful. i thought maybe today's young hockey players might need a little guidance, so, after a long brainstorm, i have put together a list of songs that should be played at every hockey game.
it's been some time since i've heard any good old fashioned rock and roll at a game, so my list begins with the big guitars, big drums, and big hair of motley crue. kickstart my heart is essentail to a good warm up. mick mars' gear shifting guitar riff, and tommy lee's loud engine drumming is a guarantee to get your feet moving.
the louder you listen to ac/dc, the better they sound. if thunderstruck, highway to hell, and let there be rock are not cranked over the p.a. system during your warm ups, it's a scientific fact that your team is going to be weak in the corners, they're going to get pushed around in front of the net, and the goalie is going to handle your shots as if his seven year old sister was shooting on him. a scientific fact.
if you play for a team that turns off the lights has a light show during introductions, sandstorm by the finish dj, darude, needs to be played when your team hops on the ice for the first time. i must be honest here, and say that this song becomes redundant and only the first minute or two need to be played.
every playlist needs that one song that everybody recognizes, but nobody knows the title of or who sings it. while he was at michigan state in the early 80's, dan insisted this oldie, but a goodie, be put on the playlist. long cool woman in a black dress by the hollies was that song. he said his team mates gave him some grief for it, but i don't understand why...
no hockey playlist should be considered a hockey playlist without i wanna drive a zamboni by the gear daddies. without fail, this song should be played while the zamboni is making ice between periods.
finally, stompin tom connors wouldn't be stompin tom connors with out his greatest hit, the hockey song. it doesn't matter when this song is played during the game, as long as it is played. the hockey song should be played religously at hockey games just like "take me out to the ball game" is played at every seventh inning stretch.
so take heed, young hockey players, to this list. don't forget about the big guitars and big drums, don't forget about angus young, remember the hollies, and make sure you show some respect to the classics.
when i was younger, i would day dream quite a bit about being a drummer. when i was a freshman, somehow i duped my father into going halvsies with me on a tama five-piece drum kit. i practiced a lot, listening to songs and playing along. after a while, i finally accepted reality. i'm not cut out to be a drummer. all this time i've thought it was simply because of my skill. now, after seeing the drummer in this video, i know it was not entirely because i was a lousy drummer, but because i will never, ever, be as cool this drummer. in my limited experience in the drumming business, talent only carries you so far. once you hit that zenith, it all depends on how bad ass you are. that's what will get you a gig drumming with stevie wonder.
in november of 1972, stevie wonder introduced the song "superstition" to the world. "when you believe in things that you don't understand/ then you suffer/ superstition ain't the way," said stevie wonder. well, obviously stevie wonder doesn't know a lick about hockey, because in hockey, superstition is, indeed, the way.
hockey players are an extremely superstitious breed of human. of course there is always the exception in any group, but every hockey player i have ever known believes in the supernatural. that one event causes another event to happen, despite physical proof that the two events are linked. breaking a stick on a one-timer, because the stick was taped toe to heel rather than heel to toe, is physical proof enough for a hockey player to never again forget to tape his stick heel to toe.
i've been thinking quite a bit about my own hockey superstitions, and it has sparked conversations with dan and a few of my hockey buddies about their superstitions and rituals. it's been interesting listening to other hockey players' quirks and to my surprise, we even share a few. others are a little mental, but i don't doubt for one second they thought mine were mental, too, and that they make good, good sense to that individual hockey player. some of these superstitions have stood the test of time and others have been ditched without a second thought.
for the hockey player, some rituals begin before they even arrive at the rink. the pre-game meal is vital to the hockey player to be mentally, as well as physically prepared for the game. one of my buddies ate a large chicken sandwich from burger king at exactly three o'clock the afternoon before each Friday home game. another buddy i talked to always eats two slices of meat lovers pizza from ramunto's before every game.
for some, quiet time is sought. in her college days, when she arrived at the rink, my friend emily would find a quiet spot in the bleachers to tape her stick. heel to toe, of course.
when it comes time to get dressed, the hockey player's obsessive compulsive disorder takes over. we all have a certain way of getting dressed, and all of the i's must be dotted and t's crossed. as it turns out, there is one superstition that each of us, all of whom i talked to today, have in common. when it comes to putting on the equipment, we all pay careful attention to which side we put on before the other. i put my left skate, shin pad, sock, elbow pad, and glove on before its opposite. dan does, too. he even takes it a bit further and makes sure he steps on the ice left foot first. my scoundrel of a brother puts right side on first. as does my friend, emily. but here is where this superstition gets interesting, i think. of the hockey players i talked to who go left side first, they all turned out to be left handed shooters all the right handed shooters go with the right side. worth some more investigating in my book...
recently, i seemed to have added a superstition to my list. when i am putting my socks over my shin pads, the sock with the tag on the inside goes on my right leg. the sock with the hole in the knee, goes on my left and the hole must be lined up with the knee cap. emily believes putting her elbow pads on before her jersey is some seriously bad juju.
on-ice warm ups seem to be another place superstitions thrive. in his days at michigan state, dan used to make sure he went down and skated through the opposing teams goal crease. he would shoot only at the center post in the net. it he hit it, it would be a good game. if he didn't hit it, he'd shoot until he did. before the start of a game, he would skate down and tap the ice in front of the goaltender and the goaltender's pads, being very careful not to touch the goalie's stick. it was bad luck to touch the stick.
i don't have too many warm up superstitions other than, stretching in the same order, which isn't unusual. my brother does the same, only he makes sure he is in the referee's crease when he's stretching. finally, i make sure i pick up at least three pucks and put them in the puck bucket at the end of warm ups.
unbeknown to myself and to my brother, we share an odd superstition. when we are sitting on the bench at any time during a game, it's important that the blade of our stick is up with the butt end on the ground. however, because i am the hockey he has always wanted to be, i have no doubt he has picked this particular superstition up from me.
to me, superstitions in hockey are as important to the game as the puck. hockey would be a strange game if neither existed.
henri richard played seventeen seasons in the NHL. his name is engraved eleven times on the stanley cup. ray bourque played twenty two seasons in the NHL, from 1979 to 2001. his name is engraved on the stanley cup only one time. he played 1,826 games in the NHL and on the 1,826th game, he was finally able to touch the cup.
i remember watching him lift the cup on a tiny television we had on our kitchen counter. i was a sophomore in high school. it was late and i was in only my boxers and my ma was harassing me to get to bed. "you can watch that tomorrow," she said. i did not care much for the avalanche and bourque was not my favorite player, but that was the first, and only time, in my life that i cried because i was so happy. in my opinion, that is the greatest moment in the history competition and awards and i can not imagine i will see anything that will top it.
if you're not a hockey fan, you've heard of the stanley cup. if you hail from the crozet islands, which are located a few hundred miles south east of south africa in the middle of the indian ocean, you've heard of the stanley cup. if you have a pulse, you've heard of the stanley cup. as i was minding my own business in the office the other day, dan went ahead and asked me an interesting question. he asked me how much do i know about the cup. as it turned out, i knew just as much about the stanley cup as i do about quantum physics. because of the amount of shame i felt for not knowing anything about it, i've spent a few hours doing some research.
the following is a list of facts and traditions that, at bare minimum, every hockey fan should know about the stanley cup.
- the cup was purchased by lord stanley preston in 1893. it cost him $48.67.
- it is a decorative punch bowl.
- the montreal hockey club was the first team to win the cup in 1894. they beat the ottawa hockey club 3-1.
- prior to 1924, not all winning teams engraved their names on the silver bands below the cup.
- the cup has gone though a few different designs. i think the "stove pipe" cup was a cool design.
- there are twelve women who have their names engraved on the cup.
- there are a number of misspellings on the cup. in 1972, apparently the bqstqn bruins won the cup.
- the first time the cup was presented to the winning team on the ice was when the maple leafs won it in 1932.
- ted lindsay, of the 1950 red wings, was the first to hoist it over his head.
- NHL players do not touch the cup until they have rightfully won it.
- the montreal canadians have won it 24 times.
- henri richard has won it 11 times.
- it takes 13 years to fill a ring with the names of the winners.
- when a band if full, it is removed and hung in the hall of fame.
- jean beliveau's name appears on the cup more than any other name. he won it ten times as a player and seven times in management.
- it weighs 35 pounds.
- the "cup for a day" tradition did not start until 1994.
- there are three stanley cups. the original cup that lord stanley bought is on display in a vault in the hockey hall of fame. a replacement was made in 1963 because the original was becoming fragile. this 1963 replica is what is used today to the players. then there is the replica trophy that is on display at the hall of fame when the actual trophy is out traveling. this one is perfect and there are no misspellings.
- in order for a name to be engraved on the cup a player must have played at least 41 games with the winning team and/or have played in at least one stanley cup final playoff game.
- the name "basil pocklington" is crossed out with x's.
who knew that lemonade and iced tea would taste so good together? arnold palmer, that's who. when i think of what summer tastes like, this drink sits comfortably near the top of my list. but the legendary golfer and his highly addictive drink have next to nothing to do with hockey, except for two things: one, we in the full stride office have probably been drinking unhealthy amounts of it lately (more me than dan, i think), and, two, i thought it was a clever prelude to this post.
the half and half drink fits in with the hot, sunny, lazy days of summer just like hammocks and barbecues. ice hockey does not... for the most part. here are my pros, as well as some cons, (hard to believe, i know!) to playing hockey in the summer.
pro: my list begins with the obvious. when it's hot enough outside to melt your brains, how beautiful it feels to walk into an ice rink. the relief when your skin first feels the cold, and your pores pucker up a little. it's the equivalent of a hot shower after being in freezing rain all day. it just feels good.
con: i'm going to consolidate two cons into this one section so, for you scanners out there, it looks like there is only one con here. shame on you, scanners. anyway, sometimes the rink isn't as cold as we'd like it to be. sometimes it's not cold at all, like gutterson. indeed, this causes a few problems. first, when the rink is warm, so is the ice. the zamboni driver will lay down a lake and it just won't set, and, unfortunately for us men's leaguers, we play with pucks that have been roasting in the trunks of our cars. wet ice and hot pucks is not a very groovy combo. besides the crappy ice, when the rink is hot, so are the locker rooms and it just sucks when you're already sweating before your skates are laced up.
pro: the parking lot. heading over to the local watering hole after a game is always nice, but it could be a one way street to a night or two on the couch if your wife sees the tab. the parking lot is, for many reasons, a fantastic alternative. your team, a mini grill, a cooler, possibly the bean bag toss game, and an ipod playing in the background is all you need if you like to hang out with the old boys after a game.
con: exiting the rink in the winter after a long, sweaty game feels, greater than or equal to, entering a rink on a hot day. exiting the rink into ninety degree weather is something i'll never get used to. even if i know it's africa hot out, i'll always expect a burst of refreshing cold when i open the arena doors leaving the rink. i hate leaving the rink when it's hot out.
pro: i believe there are two inventions left for the human race to stumble upon. each one will make that inventor richer than bill gates, richard branson, and god combine. the first is the longer lasting battery, and the second is a way to keep hockey equipment from smelling like death. since no body has bought microsoft and virgin yet, i'm going to assume the later hasn't been invented yet. in the mean time, i know the warm sun and summer breeze offer a decent alternative. the single best thing about summer hockey, in my opinion and in the opinion of most hockey moms, i'm sure, is leaving your equipment spread out to fumigate in the back yard on a golden summer day.
the summer can certainly put a damper on the game, but no matter what, everyday is indeed a good day for hockey. period.
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 3:11PM 
