Montréal Canadiens

 

Bell Centre

It might not be your team, but one cannot help but be moved by the energy in the Bell Centre as the Canadiens take the ice at the beginning of the game. A video recording of the team’s history, founded in 1909, winning 24 Stanley Cups, and producing the likes of Richard, Morenz, Béliveau, and LaFluer, all of whom were from the city, starts the countdown to faceoff. At the conclusion of the video, the narrator argues that it is the city that made the men, and therefore the team, rather than vice versa. The people were the heart of the Canadiens, in other words.

As the last home game of the year, and the Saturday prior to Christmas, the mood in the arena was festive and celebratory. The scoreboard repeatedly showed fans wearing both Canadien sweaters and Santa hats with the team’s logo. The anglophone family sitting to my right, a mother, father, and two teenaged daughters, were very much into the contest on ice, discussing players and the flow of the game. While the parents enjoyed a couple of beers, the young women indulged in pizza and popcorn.

When Angie and I walked down to the Bell Centre Plaza earlier in the afternoon, we met a couple from Munich who were going to attend the game later. Decked out in Canadiens gear, they recounted their two-week trip to Ottawa, Buffalo, and Montréal to see NHL players from Germany play. The man was a Montréal fan, while the woman preferred the Washington Capitals. Nevertheless, they were excited about the prospect of seeing Moritz Seider play for Detroit that evening. At the game that night, I did not realize it until well into the third period, the man sitting to my left and his two companions, possibly a brother and father, were all speaking German. Perhaps a sign of the NHL’s global reach.

The chiens chauds (hot dogs) at Canadiens games are legendary. Although I had a satisfying pregame mean, at second intermission I felt compelled to sample one along with a locally brewed L’Amer IPA. The dog, skinny but flavorful, comes on a toasted bun, which is its most distinctive feature, along with ketchup, mustard, and relish. About ten days prior, when the Penguins were playing in Montreal, the broadcasters, Steve Mears and Colby Armstrong, indulged in chiens chauds during the first intermission, eating them on air. Armstrong related how during his playing days the Montreal staff would deliver a pile of dogs to the visiting team’s locker room at the conclusion of the game.

 

chien chaud

Game Report 

Pittsburgh vs. Vancouver (10 January 2023)

 

First game at PPG Arena in Pittsburgh in 2023

Pittsburgh vs. Vancouver (10 January 2023)

In my first hockey game of 2023, and my first Penguins game of the season, it looked at first like the two-and-a-half-hour drive to Pittsburgh was going to be frustrating. By the first TV timeout, the Penguins were down by two goals, and coming out of the commercial break they would give up another.  Down by three goals, the Penguins replaced starting goalie Casey DeSmith and even the score by the end of the first period in a dramatic and exciting game. Coming in for relief and making his Penguins debut, was Dustin Tokarski called up after the injury to Tristan Jarry. 

The game had a fascinating backstory. Ending a 6-game losing streak against Arizona in Tempe two nights before, the Penguins remained without the services of Kris Letang who had a nightmarish season thus far. He suffered a stroke on 28 November, only to return to play against Buffalo on 10 December. After suffering an injury in the last game of 2022, he traveled to Boston for the team’s outdoor game in the Winter Classic in Boston. While there, he found out that his father died. The team voted to travel to Montreal to attend the wake in a show of support for Letang.

 

 

Dustin Tokarski entering the game, in his Penguins debut, during the first period 

Score

	1	2	3	F
Vancouver	3	0	1	4
Pittsburgh	3	2	0	5

 

Goals

Scorer	Assists	Time
Conor Garland (7)	Hughes Schenn	4:46 / 1st	Van 1, Pit 0
Brock Boeser (8)	Horvat Mikheyev	6:40 / 1st	Van 2, Pit 0
Quinn Hughes (2)	Schenn Petterson	7:05 / 1st	Van 3. Pit 0
Evgeni Malkin (13)	Smith[1] Rust	8:57 / 1st	Van 3. Pit 1	PPG
Sidney Crosby (21)	Dumoulin Rust	14:25 / 1st	Van 3, Pit 2
Jason Zucker (10)	Malkin	16:30 / 1st	Van 3, Pit 3
Evgeni Malkin (14)	Zucker	7:58 / 2nd	Van 3, Pit 4
Rickard Rakell (14)	Malkin Smith	14:31 / 2nd	Van 3. Pit 5	PPG
Travis Dermott (1)	Ekman-Larssson Boeser	12:52 / 3rd	Van 4, Pit 5

 

Game Notes:

·         Crosby’s goal 1457 points tying him with Teemu Selanne  for 17th most career points in NHL history.

 

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[1] Ty Smith: First point as a Penguin.

Penguins vs. Carolina 20 February 2022

 

Pregame ceremony honoring Sidney Crosby's 500th NHL goal before the game

Andrew and I cautiously resumed our attendance at hockey games. It was our first game together since 8 March 2020, the last game the Penguins played prior to the initial Covid pause. That game, also against the Carolina Hurricanes, was the last time the two teams had played, a gap of nearly two years. The teams entered play each with 70 points, tied for the lead in the division, but the Hurricanes had played fewer games.

Prior to the game, a ceremony to acknowledge Crosby’s 500th NHL goal occurred. The feat happened at the previous home game on 15 February against Philadelphia. Assistant captains Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin presented him with a golden hockey stick and a framed memento.

Old Guy Hockey

While waiting for colleagues in a hotel lobby in Montreal, I overheard a man and woman conversing with his aunt and cousin. They discussed being snowbirds in Florida and lamented that they could not drive down two years prior because of a major house expense, specifically finding a major crack in the foundation. They decided it was better, and more financially prudent, not to go Florida that year. Peter rationalized that while they would not be able to escape the snow and cold, he could rejoin his hockey team in an over 65-year-old league. He told the three women gathered around him that he had forgotten how much he enjoyed playing hockey, and the following year, he declined going south again so that he could play yet another hockey season. He was looking forward to doing the same again this coming year.

When the four were saying their goodbyes, and I was still waiting for colleagues, I volunteered to take the photograph so that I could have a chance to meet the senior hockey player. Peter told me he was 71 and had two teammates in their 80s. After we took photos I asked if he would mine a photo with me so that I could send my buddy a photo. The love of hockey gave us a mechanism through which we could meet, have a chat, shake hands, share photos and stories, and have a photo taken we could share with our own community. It was a way for us to overcome our initial reluctance, very prevalent in adult males, to talk to each other and make friends – even if only temporarily. His cousin told me that I had made his day; of course, he made mine as well. A story to share with my friends at a game in the future.

​

Penguins in Mullingar

It was a blustery day in Mullingar and I stepped back inside the hotel to retrieve my trusted Penguins walking hat. It was the kind of day where the wind was blowing and there was just enough rain to be a nuisance, but not really to create any puddles. Walking near the center of town on Austin Friars Street, the primary east-west axis, I was not paying attention to anyone, just lost in my own thoughts. Because I know no one in town, I try to blend into the background and observe. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a young man, perhaps in his twenties, walking hand-in-hand with a young woman. As he passed, I heard him say, “ooh…cool hat.” His comment did not immediately register, because I do not expect anyone to talk to me. But after a few seconds, I realized he was talking about my Penguins hat because no one else around was wearing a hat.

Vignettes of Shadeyside

"Mother's pure Egg Noodles"

The Shadeyside neighborhood  was originally a small village that was later incorporated into the city of Pittsburgh in the mid-19th century. Today there are several businesses, and remnants of establishments, that attest to the vitality of the area. A sign painted on a brick wall, visible from Pearl Street, touts Boehm Company’s Egg Noodles. Dan Cercone’s Barbershop, in operation since 1931, continues to serve local patrons with old-fashion barber services. It is an area that is alive and vibrant, but not reconstructed in a faux gentrification style that is prevalent today. 

A well-dressed woman, with a black coat and matching beret emerged from a row house on Taylor Street. Behind her she dragged a small piece of rolling luggage. The front window of her house had the curtains drawn, but between the window and the curtain was a tortoise-shell cat studiously watching her human disappear down the sidewalk. No doubt, in the cat’s mind, the well-coiffed woman was off on a hunt to gather food for her feline baby. It struck me, as I walked away, neither the cat nor I would ever know the truth.

Dan Cercone's Barbershop after hours

I had breakfast at Rocky’s, where the topic of conversation among the patrons was the current fortunes of Pittsburgh sports team. Pittsburgh is a city where the community is built upon loyalty to, and support for, the local sport teams. More so than any other American city I know, Pittsburghers are more apt to wear clothing supporting the Steelers, Pirates and Penguins, all of which have some form of black and gold in their jersey. It was a January Sunday morning as I sat in Rocky’s and the Steelers' playoff game conflicted with a Penguins games. The conversation focused on the improbability of a Steelers win, while also debating the general malaise that surrounded the Penguins. While one older gentleman hoped for a miracle win for the Steelers, propelling them into the Super Bowl, the more knowledgeable in the diner that morning were resigned to an inevitable outcome. 

Historic Matthews Arena

Matthews Arena, Boston

What is it that attracts us to old sports facilities? In an era when virtually every major sports team (and many minor ones) clamor for modern facilities, many knowledgeable fans seek out and celebrate classic venues. Perhaps it is those of us trying to recapture the pure thrill of competition and sports we experienced as children. 

When one thinks about historic sports venues in Boston, the natural first thought is Fenway. Yet, the old city has more hidden treasures. Opened in 1910, Matthews Arena is the nation's oldest multifunction sports facility and the oldest sheet of ice in hockey. Since 1930 it has been the home of the Northeastern University Huskies hockey team. Previously, however, it was the original home of the Boston Bruins (1924-1928) and the only "Original Six" arena still extant. Other tenants have included the Boston Celtics (basketball, 1946-1955) and the New England Whalers (1972-1973) of the World Hockey League.

Obstructed view seats

Although the arena has been renovated several times there are some distinctive features. The ceiling of the barn is made of planks of wood. There are numerous obstructed-view seats, especially in the top level of the arena. Rather than side-by-side, the benches are across the ice from one another. 

With an arena this old, it is hard to avoid a sense of nostalgia. The photographs in the lobby contains team pictures dating back to 1929. Banners in the rafters tell of a great tradition, but limited success in conference play and at the national level. But this is not the grandeur of the arena. Instead, it is in the bricks and mortar, the seats and the memories of over a decade of entertainment, joys and sorrows, friendship and comradery.