A truly great phrase from the late Habs Colour man Danny Gallivan to describe Serge Savard, the Hab's defenceman from the 70's, as he would do a 360 to evade an oncoming fore-checker.
Category: memories
Red Horner and Bee Hive Golden Corn Syrup
One of my favourite hockey stories from my Dad is him talking about growing up as a kid in the thirties and hitting that age where he followed NHL hockey. At that time, following it meant listening on the radio. The memory was a bit foggy, but he remembers his mom buying Bee Hive Golden …
Did You Ever Step On To The Ice With Your Skates Guards On…
...and splay yourself all over the ice at the gate with all your buddies laughing at you? I never did. Not once. Accuse me of memory suppression if you want but I swear I never did.
Why Is That Buzzer Ringing?
I don't know the exact date of my first real hockey game. However, I was eight and that would have made it the fall of '72, which in hindsight is a pretty cool time to have begun playing hockey in this country. My first team was St. Anne's in the Peterborough Church League (there …
365 Days of Hockey
It's been several years since I started this blog. I have written a total of 63 posts. Some of these are short stories and some are just a few sentences. However, there have been many days where a hockey memory or two crossed my mind that never made it to rinktales. In some cases I …
Things I’ve Liked About Hockey
The sound made when a puck rings off the iron. Unmistakeable, distinct, slightly different for each shot depending on how hard it was shot, how direct it hits, etc. Music to my ears. Seriously, who doesn't like this sound? Feeling worn out after the game. Beats jogging any day. Beats exercise in almost any form. …
Concussion Treatments Then and Now
Lots in the press lately about concussions and the scourge they are in the game today. I couldn't agree more. Having said that, I doubt there is any way to eliminate them from the game short of removing contact and fighting. Even then there would be the odd accident as there is in my old …
It Wasn’t About the Hockey
The icing on the cake came with the last round of jager shooters. You see, after two nights of parking our sorry behinds at Hurley's on Crescent street for several hours, it was last call but the final order for jager shooters was one that could not be filled - Hurley's had run out of …
When Your Feet Aren’t Cold Anymore, That’s Not Always Good News
When I was nine, we moved from a house in the city to one just outside the city in Peterborough's north end. I had a buddy (Lorenzo De Marchi) who lived across the street and we used to go to an outdoor rink together after school and after dinner. It wasn't far away but we …
Continue reading When Your Feet Aren’t Cold Anymore, That’s Not Always Good News
My Great Coaches
I was blessed with some great hockey coaches growing up in Peterborough. Good people all, some there to ensure that first and foremost we had fun and others believing those prizes were at least partly a bi-product of winning. There were a couple of father-son pairings in there, some solo efforts and a few were …
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