The WOHL's annual Christmas tournament goes tomorrow night. Two hours filled with three mini-games for each of the league's four teams. Not exactly 16 wins required over 2+ months to bring home Stanley but a test of character and endurance nonetheless. I'm hoping (and pretty sure) the boys stayed in this weekend, mentally and physically …
Category: people and places
8 Years Ago Today…
...I put up the boards, laid down the plastic, and turned on the hose. Rink season had begun. My neighbour buddy Rick was thinking along those same lines. Back-to-back backyard rinks - a beautiful site.
When Exams Were Over
There was a December when I was in high school, probably 1978 or 1979 when I was in grade 9 or 10, that I remember well. I'm not sure if it was abnormally cold and snowy early that year, or whether I'm just so old that I was around back when winter actually came …
Two Old Rinks
One of the damndest rinks I ever played in was a barn in Havelock. We played a high school game there one afternoon after school and it honestly felt like it was about as wide as the dressing room we got dressed in. Obviously, it was bigger than that but I do remember …
A Hockey Funeral
I attended Bud McDougall's funeral today in Peterborough. Lots of old grey hockey players at this one - LOTS. It was a wonderful send-off to a wonderful guy. I attended with my Dad and as we entered Sacred Heart church for the service, he told me the stories he had heard about what a fabulous …
Back When Girls Didn’t Play Much
Many years ago, one of my older sisters, who at the time had a son playing house-league, professed to me that she realized while watching him how fun hockey was. It made her realize how sad it was that in her younger days, there were no leagues for girls. I felt quite bad at …
The Entertainer
There once was a man named Shack, Who was famous for clearing the track, With a big hockey grin, And a twirl or a spin, Fans were always taken aback.
Bud
A sad day for hockey in Peterborough yesterday when Bud McDougall, a local with deep roots in the hockey and lacrosse community, passed away. I have been best friends with his middle son Dan since I was in my early teens and good friends with Mike and Paul his other two sons. All were hockey …
Great Documentary on NHL Expansion
Great stuff on the NHL's expansion over the years from the original six to current day. I didn't realize that the original six weren't really the original six. There were six teams left after the second world war and it stayed that way for 25 years but prior to that there had been up …
The Father David Bauer Tournament
The St. Pete's High School team that I played on competed in the Father David Bauer tournament for a couple of years in the late 70's and early 80's. In fact, the 1979 tournament was the inaugural event. I was in grade 10 for that first tournament and played exactly two shifts in a total …
Rink Tales 