Winning: The Pooh

I lied.

I said I would never, ever accept them, let alone buy one.

I thought they were an absolute abomination, completely unfit for an Original Six team with such a rich uniform history.

I saw them as a sign that even the Bruins could not escape the evil reach of Gary Bettman's modernization efforts.

Yet, here I am today. In possession of what I never thought I would own.

The Pooh Bear sweater.

Why? How could I pull such a 180 on something whose mere existence I  had been so diametrically opposed to? What the hell happened to me?

To understand where I am now on the subject, I must first look back on how it all started.

Back in 1995, as the NHL emerged from the first lockout of Gary Bettman's tenure as Commissioner, the Bruins were a fairly strong team featuring Bourque, Oates and Neely still at the top of their games. The team had bowed out in the first round of the playoffs to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion New Jersey Devils in what was the final postseason to be played at the historic Boston Garden.

But change was afoot, big time.

The Bruins were leaving the famed barn for the brand spanking new Fleet Center, located a mere nine inches behind the old building that they had played in since 1928.  And with the move the Bruins would be making another major change: new uniforms.

Now, keep in mind, the set they had worn up to that point was the only one I had ever known. That design made its debut in the 1974-5 season and save for some minor tweaks (mainly the addition of nameplates and some font changes) and the throwback set they wore in 1991-2 for the league's 75th anniversary, they stayed relatively the same up to 1995.

But wholesale changes were coming. Not only were the sweaters getting a total redesign including contrasting sleeves, three color numbers and a revised chest logo, but rumors  had it that there would be an alternate design set for introduction in the new year.

Keep in mind that websites such as Uni Watch, Chris Creamer's Sports Logos and SSUR didn't exist back then and uniform news was not readily available. All we really had were the newspapers, ESPN (yes, you read that correctly) and a few online bulletin boards.

Eventually, the designs were made public and they circulated quickly.  The league was looking to expand their foothold in the American sports scene (we were already smack in the middle of the Fox glowing puck era), with the Nordiques having relocated westward to Colorado and Winnipeg set to move to Phoenix.  Accordingly, teams were already introducing new uniform sets, including the now-infamous Islanders' "Gorton's Fisherman" set and the Capitals' teal eagle design.  Furthermore, as part of the League's marketing efforts six teams were going to introduce new alternate sweaters to be worn for select games in the second half of the season: Anaheim, Chicago, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Vancouver and the Bruins.

Uniform designs were clearly breaking away from their traditional design ethos and going in a completely different direction. Clip art logos, color gradients, cartoonish font faces and garish recolorizations were all aspects that helped foster in this new era of uniform design.

The new alternates ran the gamut of taste, from the classic simplicity of the Blackhawks' normal home template rendered in black to the Kings' "Burger King" set with sublimated sashes and the Mighty Ducks' "Wild Wing" set which was just plain terrible, even by Disney standards. Pittsburgh's thirds introduced gray into their color scheme, but that design worked well enough that they ended up adopting it as their full time road uniform until 2002.

Which brings us to the Bruins.

When the first photos surfaced of the new sweater, I was shocked.  I had long hoped for a gold alternate, but this was not what I had imagined. This was just plain fugly.

The Logo

Gentile Ben

While the 1977-1995 set featured an poorly rendered, yet somewhat ferocious bear head shoulder patch/alternate logo, the new alternates featured a large bear head that was little more than a chain stitched rendering of Gentle Ben.

In fact, the logo was based on a framed picture Harry Sinden had hanging in his office.

Whereas a number of teams decided to go with aggressive looking cartoonish characters for their logos, the Bruins went with the most timid looking bear they could find.  For a team that was known for its iconic spoked B logo, this was a huge change and certainly not for the the better.


The Template

This was not the first time the Bruins included a gold sweater in their uniform set, not was it the first time they introduced an alternate to be worn along with their normal home and away ones.

In 1940, the Bruins included a gold sweater to be worn a few times as an alternative to their standard white jersey.  They would wear this off and on for four seasons and would not wear another gold jersey until the 1955 season when they used the color on their primary uniforms.

The 1955 set was the first set to feature a home, away and alternate design.  They would wear gold sweaters through the 1967 season, but none thereafter until 1996.

The template that was used for the 1996 design featured sublimated stripes on the hem and shoulders that were supposed to mimic bear fur.  Some people thought it evoked a Charlie Brown design aesthetic instead. It was so radically different from anything the Bruins had done previously and was unlike anything else in the league to that point.  For a hockey market full of traditionalists and die-hards, it was bit tough to reconcile.  It was something that the newer teams might be able to get away with, but not the spoked-B Black and Gold.

That said, the one design element that really worked for this sweater was the use of the black/white/black tackle twill for the names and numbers, as it really popped against the bright gold material.

The Shoulder Patch

One of the most overlooked failings of the 1996 alternate was the use of the Bruins' wordmark as a shoulder patch. In a textbook case of where less is more, slapping an oversized word on the shoulders was a huge mistake. Even the use of the spoked-B logo probably wouldn't have been much better.  I honestly think that leaving the patches off would have made this look significantly better.

The Nickname

More often than not, when uniform designs garner nicknames, it is not a term of endearment.  Look at some of the other uniforms of this era which have been nicknamed over the years: the Gorton's Fisherman,  Lady Liberty, Wild Wing, Burger King, The Mooterus, even the Flying Vee.  All of these refer to uniforms that are regarded with a large degree of ridicule. Its not a good sign when you can refer to a shirt with a nickname.

The Bruins' gold alternates quickly became known as the Pooh Bears.  It was embarrassing, yet incredibly fitting.

The Era

The introduction of the Bruins alternate sweaters coincided with a the start of a tumultuous time in Bruins history.  The 1996 team opened the Fleet Center with a decent regular season, but lost out to the eventual Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers in the first round of the playoffs.  The next season was much, much worse with the B's finishing last in the east, Cam Neely battling injuries and Adam Oates being traded midseason. They'd miss the playoffs, but did manage to land the 1st and 8th picks in the 1997 Entry Draft which were used to draft Joe Thornton and Sergei Samsonov. But the Pat Burns era turned into the Mike Keenan era which begat the Robbie Ftorek era and segued into the Mike Sullivan era. All along, there were missed postseasons and poor performances when they did manage to make the playoffs.  Things bottomed out when Ray Bourque, the team's legendary defenseman and one of their all-time greats sought a trade to a contending team and managed to win the Stanley Cup 2 seasons later.

There was the Marty McSorley incident. Jason Allison's captaincy. The Joe Thornton trade. The post-lockout breakup of a promising 2003-4 squad and subsequent mess of a team in 2005. The loss to Montreal in seven games.

Despite the presence of fan favorite PJ Stock, these were not good times to be a Bruins fan. Season tickets numbered around 5,000. The team was hurting for fans. Draft picks were not panning out. Things were looking bleak.  And it just so happened that the Pooh Bears were around for this period.

So why my change of heart?

I've actually thought a lot about this. Did I have an epiphany or something? I'm not exactly sure.

The easy answer is that the statute of limitations on crappy sweater designs has expired, but I think that might be a cop out.

No, the more I think about it, the Pooh Bears remind me of a time when we had to work to be a fan of the Bruins. Though tickets were significantly cheaper than they are today, the building was significantly empty for a good number of game nights, particularly weeknight games before Christmas and games once the B's were eliminated from the playoff race. Unlike today, there were players you just could never like, but there were a few fan favorites: PJ Stock, PJ Axelsson, Bill Guerin, Don Sweeney.  You were a fan of the Bruins because you loved the team, the history, the game of hockey. Going to a Bruins game wasn't a merely a social activity.

I juxtapose that time to today. The Bruins have recaptured the Boston sports market. The team is wildly successful and the players are adored by the fans. Games are sold out and tickets are expensive and hard to get. Going to a Bruins game is THE thing to do in town.  Even after a ludicrous lockout, the local thirst for hockey remains at an all time high. It's easy to be a fan of this team because the team makes it so.

In addition, finding a Pooh Bear sweater today takes a good amount of effort. Much like when I was after my 75th anniversary sweater (almost 13 years ago), I did daily searches on eBay and online postings. What was once a prolific supply has been reduced to a slight trickle. It took me almost 2 years to find a blank throwback in my size back then.  This time it took me about six months to find a Pooh Bear in my size on eBay.

The only question that remains is which player name and number I want to get stitched on it. I've got a handful of names, ranging from the obvious (Stock) to the surprising (Donato) and everything in between.

In the end, I look at having a Pooh Bear jersey in my collection (14 and counting, by the way) as a reminder not to take what we have today for granted.  Sure, it's ugly as sin. But, much like people, its more about the inner beauty than the looks.

Road Trip Recap: Part V It's Hockey Night Tonight!

Road Trip Recaps: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV

As we were getting ready for the night's festivities, Heather recommended that we catch the end of the Habs-Sharks game at the hotel bar.  So we headed downstairs decked out in full Bruins gear, eliciting random looks as one might expect in enemy territory.  Grabbed a couple of seats at the bar, only to find the AC Milan - Brescia match on instead.  Hey Ronaldino is still fun to watch.

We downed our beverages, but not before striking up another hockey conversation with some people at the bar.  Did I mention I like this city?

On our way out we noticed a little something hanging on the wall.  I thought this was good sign.

And then it was time to go.  So without further delay, let's get to the good stuff.  And I'm going to use my normal game rundown, adapted for the road:

Just the facts, Jack (Edwards)

• Regular Season game #25, road game #13
• Boston Bruins (14-8-2) at. Toronto Maple Leafs (8-12-4)
• Second game aginst the Leafs (Bruins won 2-0 at home on October 28)

John Blue Plate Special

We hopped a cab down to the Air Canada Centre, striking up a nice conversation with our cabbie.  We asked him if he had any recommendations for a good bar in the area and he mentioned that there was this brand new place just across the street from the arena.  So we checked it out.  For about one minute.

Real Sports is a gleaming new building with huge flat screens and a very tony appearance, like GameOn!, but more chic.  Velvet ropes and bouncers outside, dark wood and glass inside.  Long lines and expensive beers.  We quickly realized that this wasn't our kind of place, so told Heather to follow me to place just up the street that might do the trick.

So we headed to the Loose Moose on Front Street.

Much, much better.

I had been there before, as it was the pregame hangout place for a bunch of us before we saw the Red Sox get absolutely slaughtered by the Blue Jays on August 23, 2008.

This time, it was Leafs fans, not Sox ones, who took over the bar.  And they were good people.  We managed to grab a couple seats at the bar from a couple of guys who were in town on business and sat next to a couple of kids who were at their first Leafs game by way of British Columbia.  I grabbed a beer.  Heather, on the other hand, thinking we were still at the Four's, had a mixed drink.  Unlike the drinks at the Four's, these were kiddie cup size.  I had a hunch that this was going to be the case hence my choice to go with the brews.

Of course, we were getting hungry too, so we grabbed a menu.  What to order?  There were the standard burgers and sandwiches.  And then there was this:

A buffalo chicken sandwich served on waffles.

Heather seemed a bit hesitant.  She wasn't sold on waffles as a bread substitute. But I insisted and she ended up going along with it.

We were not disappointed. This was SO good.

I know that chicken and waffles is fast becoming a popular dish as restaurants have found another foodie treat to beat into the ground.  Usually, though, that involves fried chicken served on top of Belgian waffles and served with maple syrup.  This was a much simpler concept, replacing a roll with waffles, and serving it on top of a pound of fries.

After devouring that fabulous meal, I wasn't really hungry once inside the arena.  But I was thirsty, so I grabbed a beer.  During the first intermission, we took a walk around the concourse again.  That's when we found the Tim Horton's stand.

Large coffee - $1.50.

You read that right.

I love this place.  You're talking $3.50 for a comparable Dunks at the Garden and that's after waiting 5 minutes in line because some pink hat wants whipped cream on her coolatta and another 5 waiting for the guy to get your drink while you hope they got your order right.

The Couture Corner

I'm just going to lay it out here - Toronto is the world capital for sweater porn.

Sweaters of just about every style worn by the Leafs in their existence were on display here.  Better yet, they were for sale here too.

Immediately across from the Real Sports bar is the Real Sports Apparel Store.  Now, it should be noted that the store is owned by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, the same company that owns the Leafs and the Air Canada Center as well as the Raptors, Toronto FC and the Marlies of the AHL.  This place has the absolute best selection I have ever seen at  team run store.

I mean, look at this: Gretzky throwbacks, late 80s Lemieuxs, and loads of different Leafs sweaters, including the late 80s/early 90s Wendell Clark and mid 90s Doug Gilmour ones seen here.

This is just plain sick.  Want a mid-70s Borje Salming or Daryl Sittler? They have it.  Want a late 60s Johhny Bower? Sure.  Late 90s Mats Sundin? No problem.

We almost had this at one time at the FleetCenter, but the guy who used to order all the old Bruins sweaters was fired and his replacements just haven't had the same demand and/or desire to order more of them.  Then again, with the way the current Bruins sweaters are selling out, the store isn't hurting for sales, either.

Even the customers bring it here:

A late 60s Lanny MacDonald.  Although the other one may be an Andrew Raycroft 3rd.  But, damn, if those aren't sweet.

Have I mentioned that we hadn't even stepped foot in the arena yet?

After looking around and finding some sweet (if not outrageously expensive) Hockey Night in Canada branded travel mugs (we'll be getting those online, thanks), we made our way into the rink.

Wide open concourses.  Loads of food choices.  Even free beer samples!

We walked around downstairs for a bit then headed upstairs to take a lap around the place as the teams were warming up.

Toronto fans bring their "A" game when it comes to wearing their colors:

Tie Domi 3rd, circa 2005

Pound for pound, Domi was one of the toughest goons I've ever seen.  Sure, I hated him when he was playing against the Bruins, but I always kinda liked him as a player.  He would have been an interesting Bruin, Jay Miller meets PJ Stock.

Mid 80s Wendell Clark

If there was one thing I took away from this weekend, it's that Leafs fans absolutely love Wendell Clark.

The first overall pick in the 1995 entry draft, Clark had 3 separate stints with the Leafs, serving as captain from 1991 to 1994.  He was a decent scorer, but was also known to be very physical ala Cam Neely.  He was traded to the Nordiques in 1994.  As part of the deal, Toronto received a young Swedish centre named Mats Sundin.  I think they made out ok in that one.

The Leafs honored his #17 in 2008.

1994 Wendell Clark Nordiques home and 1995 Islanders Away

This completely blew my mind.

As I said, Toronto fans love Wendell Clark, but this took it to a new level.  Clark played one season each for these two teams before returning to the Leafs midway through the 1995 season.  Those Quebec sweaters were beautiful in their simplicity featuring the fleur de lis.  As for the the Islanders one, aka the Gorton 'fishsticks' ones, they were so ugly that they have a certain charm to them.

Going, Going, Gondola

This was my first time visiting the Air Canada Centre.  I had heard from numerous people, both friends and on TV that this was one of the best places to see a game in the NHL.  So I would be remiss if I didn not share a little bit of the building with you.

There weren't a lot of memorabilia type displays (most places in the concourses were taken up by food stands and merchandise vendors), but this one stood out to me.  Photos of every player who wore the captain's C for the Leafs.  I wish the Bruins would do something like this, but then again, they'd have to have pictures of Jason Allison and Joe Thornton.  So maybe not.

The sightlines were great.  No columns and the balcony seats were set at a fairly steep angle putting you closer to the ice than a comparable seat at the Garden.

Hockey is presented in a fairly pure form here.  No t-shirt cannons. No crappy music.  Trivia questions based on the history of the Leafs.  I loved every bit of it.

I really like how the Leafs honor their Stanley Cup winners.  Simple banners with a picture of the cup featuring the team logo at the time and the year on the bottom. 

The other interesting thing they do is that they  really don't retire numbers in the traditional sense.  Only the numbers 5 (Bill Barilko) and 6 (Ae Bailey) have been taken out of circulation.  Great players have their numbers 'honored' instead, much like what NFL teams do with their rings of honor.  Hence you have the number 1 worn by hall of famer Johnny Bower and Bruins reject Andrew Raycroft.

One other really interesting feature is the Foster Hewitt media gondola.

Hewitt was a longtime radio broadcaster in Canada who gained fame calling the national hockey night in Canada broadcasts for 40 years.  The old Maple Leaf Gardens featured a gondola hanging at the top of the building where broadcasters were stationed.  When the Air Canada Center was built, the pressbox was named in his honor.

The Row 12 Rundown

Well, seeing that we were on a road trip with just the two of us, 307 wasn't represented all that well.  We had seats in section 323, row 11 and they were fantastic.

Doosh of the Day

Even north of the border, there are societal losers to be found.

Honorable mention goes to the bunch of college age kids in front of us who went from mild mannered clowns when the Leafs were trailing to full-fledged asshats once they tied it up.  Also need to give a shout out to the 12 year old girls in the train station after the game who tried to talk trash to us, despite the fact they've never seen the Leafs even make it to the finals in their lifetime.

But the winner goes to the self proclaimed Penguins fan outside the train station on Front Street who said the happiest day of his life was when Ulf Samuelsson took out Cam Neely's knees.  Very few taunts tend to get me worked up like someone who glorifies a player getting injured, regardless of what team they play for  (yes, even the Habs).

To her credit, Heather suggested we hop in cab and get out of there before things escalated.  So we headed back towards the hotel.

The Clothes Line

I was a little concerned that with a scarcity of tickets available, there would be few Bruins fans there for the game.  Boy was I wrong.  There were plenty.  Including this guy:

1972 Wayne Cashman home

I've seen a lot of early 70s Bruins replicas.  But those tend to feature the same players: Orr, Bucyk, Esposito, Cheevers.  But this was the first time I've ever seen a Cashman, the career Bruin who served as captain form 1978 to 1983.

As for what we wore, I went with the 1970 Orr and Heather went with the late 80s Neely.  We figured we'd get along with more fans if we wore players that are Hall of Famers that are universally (well, almost) respected among hockey fans.

The Lobel Prize

We all know that the Leafs have Phil Kessel.  What we also know is that Kessel has never scored against the Bruins sinced he was traded.  And he still hasn't, sort of.  The box score shows that he had no goals or assists and landed 6 shots on net (all of which were saved by Tim Thomas), but it was his goal scored in final round of the shootout that gave the Leafs a 3-2 victory and landed him the first star of the game award.

That hurt, real bad.

It also didn't help that Kris Versteeg, a pretty decent player who was once a Bruins minor leaguer (traded to Chicago for the forgetable Brandon Bochenski), tied the game at 2-2 at 19:18 of the third period.

Ugh.

The Home End

Though the Bruins got a point, this felt like a bad loss.  Giving up 2 points to a division rival was bad. Having Phil Kessel be the one to seal the deal was worse. Furthermore, a good portion of the good will and camaraderie we felt druing the day was a bit diminished by the way a few classless fans acted towards us after the game.

I really hoped to go out after the game and celebrate with a pint or two, but we headed back to the hotel bar and relaxed instead.  Besides, we had to be up early to catch the bus back to the airport. So we went back to the room and watched the late game on the CBC and headed off to bed shortly thereafter.

Though the game didn't go exactly as we had hoped for and that we almost never made it up there in the first place, it was a pretty good birthday weekend.

Next year, I'm thinking the Windy City for a B's-Blackhawks game.

Postgame Recap: December 2 - Eight is (More Than) Enough

Before we get to a very special edition of the Bear Maximum (ooh, the intrigue!), I still need to offer a look back on the thorough shellacking the boys doled out on the Lightning last week.
So without further delay....

Just the facts, Jack (Edwards)

• Regular Season game #24, home game #11
• Boston Bruins (13-8-0-2) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (14-8-2-1)
• Second game aginst the Bolts (Bruins lost 3-1 in Tampa on November 22)

John Blue Plate Special

With my mind admittedly more focused on the game on Saturday than this one and the fact that I was slammed at work, I left the office about 25 minutes later than I had hoped to.

Needless to say, traffic on the Pike was a mess, especially around Newton Corner.

And then there was a delay on the MBTA green line due to a signal problem at Government Center.

Needless to say, I was late.  Fortunately, Heather had already procured a spot upstairs, with help from the father-son duo of Roger and Chris.  I called ahead and told her to order whatever as I had no idea what time I was going to get there.  So she ordered up a Johnny Kelly wrap with bacon with a side of onion rings.

I wasn't exactly starving, so splitting a meal was the way to go.  It was a good call and it hit the spot dead-on.

The Couture Corner

Tampa Bay is not exactly a franchise with a iconic, time tested look.  When they redesigned their look to fit the RBK Edge system in the 2007-8 season, one vould argue they took a turn for the worse.

That said, they do have one of the worst sweaters in their collection to ever (dis)grace the NHL, in my opinion - the 1996-98 third sweater.

I was really hoping to see one of these in person.  Or a early 90's Rob DiMaio one.

I saw neither.  In fact, I think I saw but one Lightning jersey at the game.  Just not a lot of TB fans up here, as it should be.

So I had to go to plan B - find other jerseys of interest.  Here, I had decidely more luck.

Let's take a look:



Syracuse Bulldogs Ogie Ogilthorpe

Who are the Syracuse Bulldogs you ask?  Obvioulsy, you're not a fan of the greatest hockey comedy ever made: Slap Shot.

The Bulldogs are a fictitious team modeled after the Syracuse Blazers of the defunct North American Hockey League.  The Blazers featured a player by the name of Bill "Goldie" Goldthorpe who had a certain penchant for using his fists to coerce opponents into submission.  He was the inspiration for the Ogilthorpe character, played in the movie by Ned Dowd, a Boston native who just so happened to be the brother of the movie's writer, Nancy Dowd.

The call (for fear of retaliation)?



Good!

1983-4 Cam Neely #21 Vancouver Canucks Away Rookie Sweater

These pictures do not do this sweater justice.  The Vancouver 'flying V' look is one of the most ridiculed looks in NHL history, but I sorta like it.  The colors were very bold and vibrant.  And it was different.

Plus the fact that this guy is clearly a Neely fan.  And he likes to be different.

I shouldn't even have to consult with the review booth on this one, but here goes anyway:



Good!

The Row 12 Rundown

No Kaspers, but we did have a special guest in young Miss Kylee along with Cassie.

Doosh of the Day

Fortunately, the crowd wasn't too bad for this one.  But that doesn't mean it was doosh-free.

I have 2 awards for this one: 1 for the past and 1 for the present.

The past refers to the doosh who stuck his (or her) gum on the bottom of seat 9, aka Heather's seat.  Based on my research, I think it may have been placed there during the Celtics-Blazers game on 12/1 as it was relatively sticky (or so I was told) and that was the last event at the Garden prior to this game.  I don't think it was from the Michael Buble concert on 11/27.

No one wants a gummy bum, after all.

As far as the present day winner, I'm giving it to the kid who sat in Keith's seat (seat 7) next to me who was dipping for most of the game and spitting incessantly into his cup all the while.  He kicked over the cup at some point in the 3rd period, spilling the contents all over the ground in front of his seat.

Just gross, dude.

The Clothes Line

Late 80's/early 90's Glen Wesley

Wesley was a actually a very decent defenseman who was drafted by the Bruins with the draft pick they acquired with Cam Neely in the Barry Pederson trade with Vancouver in 1986.  He was an All Star in 1989.

But his tunure in the Hub will be remembered for 2 things: The open net miss and the trade.
In the first overtime of game 1 of the 1990 Stanley Cup Finals against the Oilers, Wesley was looking at an open net in the slot and fired a backhand shot high and wide.  A gola would have won it for the Bruins and given them some momentum in the series.

The Oilers would go on to win the game in the third overtime period.  They'd win the series as well.

Petr F*cking Klima.

The Bruins would trade Wesley to the Hartford Whalers in 1994 for 3 future first round draft picks.  One of which was used to draft Sergei Samsonov. When Samsonov was traded to Edmonton in 2006, the Bruins received the Oiler's second round pick in that years' entry draft.  That pick was used by the Bruins to slect some guy named Milan Lucic.

So Wesley was good for something, et least.

The Lobel Prize

Tampa Bay has but one fromer B on their roster, former farmhand Nate Thompson.

Thompson played only 4 games for the Bruins, all during the 2006-7 season.  In those games he did absolutely nothing. No points, no penalties.  Bupkus.

In this game, he had 2 shots and finished a -1 for the night.  No harm done here.

The Home End

This was a beatdown.  Bolts goalie Mike Smith had a game to forget, misplaying a shot by Denis Seidenberg he thought was going to carom that went in the net from beyond the blue line.  While it was nice to see the Bruins put eight goals past the Tampa Bay golaies (Smith was mercifly pulled in the 3rd period in favor of Dan Ellis who wasn't much better), I was secretly hoping the'd save some offensive output for the next game in Toronto 2 nights later.

Up Next: The Bear Maximum goes roadtrippin' to the home of hockey!

Postgame Recap: October 28 - Holy Flurking Schmidt

This might be the easiest (and longest) blog post I write all season.

Games like last night's are the one's you circle on the calendar when the schedule comes out.  A game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, a fellow Orignal Six member, a division foe.

And did I mention that Phil Kessel plays for them?  You know, the same Phil Kessel who was drafted #5 overall by the Bruins, had innate scoring ability, questionable work ethic and ultimately forced a trade out of town when the Bruins wouldn't meet his exorbitant contract demands.  The same guy we traded for Toronto's #1 draft pick in the 2010 NHL entry draft, the pick that ended up being the #2 overall selection that the Bruins used to draft Tyler Seguin.

And to make it even more special, the Bruins decided that last night they would honor one of their all-time greats, Milt Schmidt.



So, let's take a look back on this one:

Just the facts, Jack (Edwards)

• Regular Season game #8, home game #3
• Boston Bruins (4-2-0-0) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (5-2-1-0)
• First Northeast Division matchup of the season
• Milt Schmidt Night at the Garden

John Blue Plate Special

Bacon.

It is one of the greatest additions one can make to just about any savory recipe and make it better.

A few years ago, Heather and I were at the Fours figuring out what to order. I was in the mood for a Johnny Kelly (fried boneless chicken breast with swiss cheese and supreme sauce). I was figuring out ways to tinker with it when it hit me: add bacon.  At this time, Heather was always ordering a Larry Bird (grilled chicken with lettuce and tomato) in a wrap with bbq sauce on the side.  Seeing my newfound discovery, she tried the bacon as well.  Needless to say, we've never ordered the Larry Bird without that crispy pork addition again.

Fast forward to last night and I was making good time heading into town on the Pike eastbound until I was approaching the Weston tolls.  The traffic reports said that traffic was at a crawl and there was an accident on Storrow Drive west that was screwing up things downtown.  After a couple failed attempts at taking some shortcuts to bypass the mess, I finally arrived downtown around 6:30.  With time rapidly running out to grab a bite to eat, I stashed my car at the Government Center garage and met up with Heather a few minutes later.

The silver lining to this was the fact that she and I had decided ahead of time that we'd go the Larry Bird route with onion rings for this one, so by the time I got there, our food order was already in.  A few drinks later, the food came.  It was delicious (as is the norm there) and I headed into the game.

The Couture Corner

I can't lie, part of the reason I get so excited for Toronto games is the fact that the Leafs sweaters are some of my absolute favorites in all of hockey.  Simple two-tone and classic, much like the Celtics or Penn State, they are everything a classic hockey sweater should be.  This past offseason, they made some revisions to their look, namely adding a double hemline stripe and changing their shoulder patches to the classic 32 point maple leaf.

But we didn't get to see those last night.  We got better.

Toronto wore their 3rds.  My hands-down favorite look in the NHL. 

Introduced in 2000 and back after a one year hiatus in 2008, the Leafs' 3rd sweater is a throwback to the late 50s-early 60s.  Just a classy, classy look.

As for the Bruins, they broke out their 3rd sweaters for the first time of the season. These are the black ones with the secondary logo on the chest, not the Winter Classic ones.  Normally, I'm not a fan of the B's wearing these for Original 6 games, but I made an exception for this one.

As one might expect in a matchup of these teams, the fans got dressed up for this game.  I actually found a couple of noteworthy shirts:

As beautiful as the Leaf's 3rds are, these two sweaters bring shame and disgrace (in my mind, at least):

Eric Lindros and Gary Roberts

Lindros was, well, Lindros.  Massive, massively talented and massively underachieving (when he wasn't massively injured with a concussion).

As for Roberts, he was a great player with Calgary (winning the Cup in 1989), then injured his neck, sat out a season and returned to the NHL first with Carolina, then the Leafs, before moving on to  a bunch of other teams.  He wasn't a goon - he didn't have the size.  He wasn't a pest like Sean Avery.  Rather, he was sorta dirty and played with some sandpaper in his game.  I never liked him.  And I wasn't alone in that view.

The call?



No good.

But wait - we have an added bonus:



1980's Dave Taylor Los Angeles Kings

I'm scratching my head as to why this guy was wearing this sweater, but it was worthy of a mention.

What say the powers that be?



Good!

As for what I wore, well, let's just say that you know a game is special when the fans break out their Bobby Orr sweaters.  And there were plenty to be seen, including mine.

The Row 12 Rundown

The biggest news to report was that this was the season debut of John Barry in seat 11.  Pretty much the usual crew was there as well.

Special thanks to Paula for hooking us up with some Halloween candy!

Doosh of the Day


More often than not, when the Bruins play one of the Canadian teams, a certain contingent of 'fans' tend to take a misguided jingoistic tack, confusing an NHL game featuring an American based team with many Canadian players with an Olympic or World Cup team.

This especially holds true for the two teams from French speaking cities Montreal and Ottawa, but for whatever reason Toronto doesn't elicit the same reaction.  And I appreciate that.

I always fear that some nitwit will boo 'O Canada'.  Its happened before (and was quickly quelled when it did).  Doing so automatically garners you Doosh of the Day status.  Fortunately, no one went this route.

But I still need to find someone to nominate, so I'm going to go in a completely different direction and announce that the Doosh of the Day is none other than Espo, Phil Esposito.

Let me explain.

Being Milt Schmidt night and all, Cam Neely (himself having his number retired by the B's) had a special surprise during the pregame ceremony - the best players in Bruins history, the most revered names (at least the ones who are still alive) were trotted out from the Bruins bench: Orr, Bourque, Bucyk and O'Reilly. Retired numbers 4, 77, 9 and 24 respectively to go along with Schmidt (15) and Neely (8).

There was one glaring omission - Phil Esposito and his number 7.

Espo apparently has a long running tiff with the Bruins front office (read: Harry Sinden).  He's been noticeably absent from that last few number retirements.  One of the teams greatest scorers, Espo wasn't there to honor the man who, as General Manager, acquired him in one of the greatest trades ever and under whose regime he won not one, but two Stanley Cups. A man who at the tender age of 92 may not be around all that much longer for future gatherings of the greats.

For all I know, Espo my not have been invited.  But if he was, then he should have been there.  And because he wasn't he's a DotD.

The Clothes Line


There certainly wasn't a lack of candidates for this.  I saw a Vladimir Ruzicka home sweater, a bunch of Adam Oates ones, even some quality Wendel Clark Leafs ones.  Sadly, I did not see any Tie Domi ones.

But I saw these guys, and they are the hands down winners:



Borje Salming and Stan Jonathan

Salming is a Hall-of-Fame defenseman who was one of the first Europeans (he's Swedish) to go on to a successful career in the NHL first with the Leafs and then the Wings.

Jonathan is one of the toughest players to ever don the Black & Gold.   5'8" and 185 pounds, he was small but he could hold his own with the biggest of pugilists on the ice (208 PIM in 1979-80).  A Native Canadian (Indian), he had a decent scoring touch and was one of Coach Don Cherry's favorite players.

The Home End


The Bruins have always been the best team in town when it comes to honoring their own. Classy ceremonies with a cavalcade of hockey royalty is par for the course.

In the past, the Bruins have scheduled retirement ceremonies as means of boosting ticket sales.  But this one was different.  Obviously, it wasn't a retirement per se, but it had all the pomp and circumstance that typically accompanies one.

This ceremony seemed to be the brainchild of Cam Neely.  Now the President of the Bruins, Cam has shown that he has a firm grasp of the "Bruin Way".  He knows that there is a blue-collar work ethic and a respect for the storied history of the franchise.  What better time than to honor one of the all-time greats for his 75 years as part of the Bruins in a multitude of roles (player, coach and GM), than for Cam to arrange for this fete for Milt Schmidt.

There were the standard laudatory accolades and gift presentations as well as a heartfelt speech by the man himself.  But the best part of the ceremony, right after Schmidt finished his words, was when Cam made a surprise introduction of the other retired numbers and that they would be giving #15 a formal raising to the rafters.  Apparently, back in the day numbers were simply retired with no formal ceremony.  Cam obviously felt that this was the perfect opportunity to rectify that.  It was heartfelt and I'm blessed to say that I was there to see it live.

There were other highlights to the night, the Bruins winning 2-0 being one of them.  Patrice Bergeron potting his first goal of the season (PPG, the eventual game winner), Tim Thomas continuing his hot start (5-0, 0.60 GAA, 2 shutouts, 9.80 save %) and Nathan Horton dropping the gloves with Dion Phanuef for his first fight as a Bruin put smiles on everyone's faces.

But the absolute best part of the night was what transpired right after Seguin scored the second (and final) goal of the game.  The Garden crowd began to chant "Thank you, Kessel" in unison.  I was laughing, as were most of the people in attendance, Seguin included.  Chant of the year, only 3 home games in.  And one of the best I've ever heard in my life.  Thats saying a lot.

See My Vest(ments) - Part III: Looch of the Drawer

Coming down the home stretch, here is part III of my primer to my hockey sweater collection.

(Parts I and II can be found here and here)

Before we get to the goods, I probably should explain my system for buying a particular player's sweater.  It's not complicated.  Basically, I tend to buy those sweaters for players who have cemented their places in the annals of their teams' history. Local legends and hall-of-famer types are givens.  A player must have established themselves with the team and gone onto a decent, if not lengthy, career here. Championship players are in play as well.

One merely has to scan my closet to see what I mean: Larry Bird, John Havlicek, John Hannah, Doug Flutie, Mike Vrabel, Tedy Bruschi, Carlton Fisk, Jason Varitek, Tim Wakefield, Bobby Orr, Ray Bourque, Cam Neely.  Even Patrice Bergeron.

Then there's Milan Lucic.

Huh?  He doesn't really fit my criteria.

Allow me to explain:

I've followed the Bruins closely for almost my entire life.  I've seen hundreds of players come and go, both seasoned veterans and hot-shot rookies alike.  Very rarely has there been a player who has flown under the radar only to show up at training camp and make a splash, so much so that they make the roster.

Looch was a 2nd round pick that only the die-hards knew about.  He was 19 years old.  He wasn't expected to make the Bruins' roster as it was widely assumed that he would be returned to his hometown Vancouver Giants in the WHL.

However, he made quite the impression in training camp and the preseason.  So much so that he earned a place on the 23 man roster. And then, in his first ever regular season game, he dropped the gloves with Dallas' Brad Winchester and held his own.

I was hooked then and there.

You could see it in his TV interviews and his style of play. He was hardnosed and played with grit and gumption. He finished his checks.  He hit anything that moved.  He wasn't afraid to mix it up with goons.  And he could pop in the occasional puck.

Part Cam Neely, part Terry O'Reilly.  In short, he exemplified the prototypical Bruin blue-collar work ethic. 

Then I got to meet him at a special season ticket holder event and got to chat with him for a few minutes.  It was apparent that he got "it" - a winning attitude, a willingness to get dirty when necessary and a desire to continuously improve his game all while maintaining a sense of humbleness and respect.

These are the types of players I love to watch.

And that's why I have his sweaters.


2008 Milan Lucic Alternate Replica

Manufactured by: CCM
Size: Medium
Year Purchased: 2008
Purchased At: Boston Bruins Proshop at the TD Bank Garden

The Deets:

When Patrice Bergeron was out injured with a concussion during the 2007, there was a video going around showing him skating around the Garden in a prototype 3rd sweater that was possibly going to be added for the 2008 season.  It was all black with the usual chest and shoulder logos switched up.  It had a sleeve stripe and collar much like the 1977-95 sweaters.  The large bear logo on the chest was reminiscent of the 1926-31 sweaters.
There was a single thin yellow stripe on the hem. It was sweet.

Fast forward to November 28, 2008.  Day after Thanksgiving.  This was the day the new sweaters were to debut.  The Bruins made a big deal out of it, giving all the fans in attendance special commemorative black t-shirts.  The sweaters themselves were nearly identical to the prototypes, save for the fact that there was no stripe on the hem.  I personally wished they had a hem stripe to match the ones on the sleeves, but even without it, they looked great.

So when the Bruins had their annual shopping night for season ticket holders later in December, it was a forgone conclusion that I was going to buy one for me with my 25% discount.  And it only made sense that it was going to be a Milan Lucic one.

Worn for: Non-original six games, Matinees


2010 Milan Lucic Winter Classic Replica

Manufactured by: CCM
Size: Medium
Year Purchased: 2010
Purchased At: Boston Bruins Proshop at the TD Bank Garden

The Deets:

There were rumors in 2008 that the Bruins were pushing the NHL to host a Winter Classic, possibly at Fenway Park.  Originally, it was hoped that the Bruins would face the Rangers on New Year's Day 2008 at Yankee Stadium before it was to be torn down.  That plan fell though and the Wings met the Hawks at Wrigley instead.

So in June 2009, there was a press conference was held at Fenway with representatives of both the Bruins and Flyers as well as everyone's least favorite commissioner, Gary Bettman, to officially announce that the 2010 Winter Classic was going to be held at Fenway.

As with the previous 2 installments of the WC, the teams were to be dressed in throwback uniforms.  Already, we had seen Buffalo break out the original blue and gold Sabres sweaters, the Penguins don the old baby blue skating penguin ones, the Wings hearken back to their Detroit Cougar days and the Blackhawks slightly tweak one of their best ever looks.

With a history rivaled only by their Canadian Original Six brethren, surely the Bruins would wear something that would be special.  The question was what exactly was that look?

And so it was at the 'State of the Bruins' town meeting with season ticket holders in September 2010 that we finally found out.  At the end of the meeting, Cam Neely, now working in the Bruins front office, mentioned that he had something special to show us.

Amidst a spectacular light show featuring fake snow, David Krejci emerged from behind the stage in full uniform wearing what was to be worn for the Winter Classic.  It was amazing.

Cam went on to explain that he had a huge say in the design and that he culled many different elements from past designs to create this one: The 1949 spoked B logo, the gold body from the 1950s and 60s, the stripe patterns from the 70s and 80s and the brown accents reminiscent of the original sweaters.

I knew I had to have one. So much so that I pre-ordered one right there on the spot.

Sadly, Looch missed the Winter Classic, but he did don the sweater later in the season as the Bruins would wear these again a couple of more times throughout the season.

Worn for: Original Six and Second Six matchups