The romance of hockey

[Randall Flagg]

I like to think of myself as a somewhat knowledgeable hockey fan, and I never see stats unless I'm reading hockey articles or this board.  There's just so much about the game you can sink your teeth into while you're watching.

 

 

-You can try to figure out which lines are going against which and why the home coach is doing it.

 

-You can sit back and listen to how talented Rick is at capturing the flow of the game with as few words as possible.

 

-You can try to isolate players and learn about them.  I love assigning personalities to players based solely on how they play.  I don't know Mark Pysyk, but I know the calm, methodical Pysser.

 

-You can watch the space open and close depending on where the puck is.

 

I'm captivated every time, even if I know the Sabres are going to lose.

I definitely feel like you speak for me when you discuss the way you see the game. 

 

I enjoy when everyone brings out the charts and stats in between games. It gives me things to think about, and allows me to address general opinions that watching games has given me, to check their accuracy. 

 

But when I'm watching a game, or doing anything away from this site, I see hockey the way I did when I was ten and the Sabres were carrying us all on the wild ride that was the 05-06 season. I sit in school now just like I did in middle school picturing the ice gliding beneath my skate blades and the wind brush across my eyes in the opening between my hat and scarf. That feeling you get in your elbows, wrists, and palms when your wrist shot has a perfect release, and it snaps to the back of the net from where the post and crossbar connect. There's a distinct bit of magic to hockey that no other sport has ever come close to showing me. When I watch the Sabres by a crackling fire on a Friday night in the middle of January, the same magic is present. 

 

Again the stats are great and fun. This site and others are great for teaching me about them. But (as this thread asks about) most of my hockey experience occurs cherishing the moments when Pat Kaleta puts home a rebound to break a scoreless tie in the third period of game one, as opposed to reading the stats and talking about how they show that Pat Kaleta should be nowhere near my team if I want it to be good.

 

That's just my experience.

[Stoner]

The romance of hockey for me is getting there early and staring at a fresh sheet of ice. I scan from left to right, hear the bell ring, and do it again, wondering what story will be typed on that blank canvas.

 

This thread is great.

[Huckleberry]

No, I'm not talking about romance in the lovey-dovey sense. 

 

There is a lot of knowledge on SabreSpace.  While I appreciate it, I am often lost in it all.  My fandom is still the fandom of a nine-year-old boy watching Gilbert flowing around the other team.  I like to watch hockey visually, and all the fancy stats in the world don't enhance the actual game experience for me.

 

Anyone else out there with me?  Or have fancy stats and fantasy sports eclipsed the romantic vision of sport?

 

Eichel brought that romance back for many sabres fans, I heard the crowd going wild when he got the puck 3 on 3.

But also the reason why I like this board over many others is the "hockey IQ" many posters have on here.

I learned alot about sabres history and the hockey game in general because of you guys.

[North Buffalo]

I like stats too, but they dont explain matchups well, team v team why certain lines play against others, chemistry i suppose shows up in stats but it depends on which stats you look at.

 

I miss Rick's call of Gilbert Perrault winding from behind the net or Robert flying down the wing or Martins wrist shot or Luce going in on a break and sooting it over top of the net, or Rammmer on the forecheck...

 

Or Shoney leveling someone in front of net... I could go on..., painting a picture with his words as I listened to the radio under my pillow to avoid my parents detection.

Edited November 17, 2015 by North Buffalo

[Neo]

How cool ...

 

 

Awesome post. I've chimed in, over the years, with early memories. Mr. J captured it well. I won't eat column inches, again.

 

The Poor Man's Aud and fried bologna. The wheelchair bound peanut vendor who juggled. Looking over the Harbor with Brian Spencer, sitting in a Rolls Royce. Attending a closed practice during the playoffs (Korab to Pereault: "C'mon, superstar...), popping beer cups in the hallways, the organ, "we want Ray", snipping milk cartons and mailing coupons for the open practice, and them watching the mail, The Courrier Express before school, for box scores (and reading that Tim Horton died), transistor radios under the pillow on school nights.

 

Milt Ellis .... Joe Daley playing goal without a mask, and combing his hair perfectly between periods; saving money for pennants ... Sabres first, then the awesomely cool Blackhawks Howie Meeker, rabbit ears and rotating antennas ...

 

SabreJaks, Schoney's album, "and where there's a Gil there's a waaAAay". Looking forward to Juri Dudacek.

 

Perreault and Larry Mickey, walking to the locker room for a practice, smoking cigarettes, with Perreault crooning The Platters' "Only You".

 

Meeting Bob Probert on the catwalk and shaking a hand nearly twice mine in size. He wore a dress shirt, tie, and leather coat.

 

Sleeping overnight for standing room only tickets to watch Bermie Parent hoist the Conn Smyth while Sabres fans applauded and chanted "Bernie, Bernie ...".

 

Niagara Falls International airport to greet the team after a playoff game in Montreal, "thank you, Sabres" when it was spontaneous. 1,2,3,4 .... We want 5.

 

Buffalo 12, Soviet Wings 6 (Korab vs Yakushev), during the Cold War.

 

A game stopped while ten players helped Don Luce find a contact lens.

 

Craig Ramsey's first goal, during a game he scored three (just like Jean Beliveau).

 

A young Jaromir Jagr saying he liked playing the Sabres because "their defense is soft", and Rob Ray lining up opposite him for the opening face off the next time they met .... and he and Super Mario whining to the referees for a full 50 seconds before leaving the ice ...

 

The Buffalo Sabres.

Edited November 17, 2015 by N'eo

[Stormin Norman]

Have to ask.

 

Is your avatar Ultra Man? I think that is his name, it's been 40 years since I watched the show.

Yes, and congratulations. Very few people know who this super hero is!

[BagBoy]

"Using the Beta Capsule, Hiata becomes...ULTRAMAN!"

 

I remember it from channel 29, also. I loved that show.

Edited November 17, 2015 by BagBoy

[Stormin Norman]

"Using the Beta Capsule, Hiata becomes...ULTRAMAN!"I remember it from channel 29, also. I loved that show.

Proud of all you who remember Ultrman!

 

Anyone remember standing under the gold seats where the players came out and thinking, "They're giants!"?

[woods-racer]

Yes, and congratulations. Very few people know who this super hero is!

 

It was a bit confusing because I never watched in color, we had a black and white tv then. I will not google as my memories are always better than reality. 

 

Neo, 

 

I thought I was the ONLY one that got away with a transistor radio , cause no way mom and dad knew..

[Stoner]

SabreJak. Hmmm.

 

And N'eo, where were you when I needed help writing my song?

[Neo]

SabreJak. Hmmm.

 

And N'eo, where were you when I needed help writing my song?

You needed NO help!

[pi2000]

I had a better relationship with the sport when there was more fighting... 80's and early 90's hockey was the best.    Not enough raw emotion in today's game.    It's more fun watching teams play that have a deep down hatred for each other, instead of this fist bump after a fight .  

 

These days, instead of looking forward to the heavyweights squaring off we get to watch AHL level talent dump the puck in to the other teams zone and setup a neutral zone trap.... how exciting!!!

[Neo]

It was a bit confusing because I never watched in color, we had a black and white tv then. I will not google as my memories are always better than reality.

 

Neo,

 

I thought I was the ONLY one that got away with a transistor radio , cause no way mom and dad knew..

I remember going to the movies with my family, cuz I HAD two, on Easter or some other holiday. I wore my new sweater, and had the transistor in my corduroys with the earphone running secretly up my sleeve and into my ear. I kept my left hand in my pocket for hours listening to a matinée. May have been Oliver, or Fiddler in the Roof.

I had a better relationship with the sport when there was more fighting... 80's and early 90's hockey was the best. Not enough raw emotion in today's game. It's more fun watching teams play that have a deep down hatred for each other, instead of this fist bump after a fight ######.

 

These days, instead of looking forward to the heavyweights squaring off we get to watch AHL level talent dump the puck in to the other teams zone and setup a neutral zone trap.... how exciting!!!

Eighty two games is a long season. When there was more fighting, each game took on a relevance you don't see today. There was the passion play, the game within the game. Sending messages, answering the call, taking liberties, the code. I grew up with this, too. I miss it. I am prepared to be called a Caveman. Remember seeing a one goal game become a two goal game, late? Too late to realistically expect to score two to tie? Out would come the muscle - first home, then road ... Especially if home was losing. Edited November 17, 2015 by N'eo

[Ottosmagic13]

I've played hockey competitively for 20+ years. I started playing hockey before I even have solid memories of it. There are pictures of me learning to skate with a metal folding chair for support. 

 

For 10+ years growing up in Geneva, NY I played in an open air rink within a slapshots distance from Seneca Lake. I remember games where your breath froze to the cage of your helmet and pucks shattered on goal posts. I also remember practices where we had to skate laps to lift the fog. 

 

I remember our first trip to Canada and playing teams 2-3 years younger than us and loosing horribly. 

 

I fondly recall scoring a Hat Trick in the finals of a Tonawanda or Skaneateles tournament. I remember when we put an ice bucket full of liquid soap into the hotel Jacuzzi/hot tub that same tournament and the fire department had to come to clear out the resulting "sudsageddon."

 

I remember getting dressed in the back of the family van because my dad went one exit to far on the thruway and having to get carried into the arena cause I had my skates on as the team was taking the ice.  

 

I remember driving home from some late game through a blizzard and thinking it looked like going into hyperspace in the Millennium Falcon 

 

I played all through high school then college. I played in an adult league while going to grad school. I haven't been able to play in the last three years and I feel like a part of me is absent. 

 

This game has been a huge physical and sentimental part of my life and watching the Sabres play evokes many of the memories that I hold of playing. Some people upthread have nailed it; like the instant feeling you get when the puck leaves your stick and you just know it's going in, the beauty in a saucer pass across the goal on a 2v1 or the special kind of nerves you get when facing an open net shot in a tied game. 

 

It's very much a romantic thing for me. I took a class in college on poetry from languages other than English and we talked about the Japanese idea of "yugen" in a nutshell it's the appreciation of beauty and art, the power to evoke feelings that are inexplicably deep and too mysterious for words, rather that the ability to state directly what something means and Hockey embodies that to me.  

Edited November 17, 2015 by Ottosmagic13

[Neo]

I've played hockey competitively for 20+ years. I started playing hockey before I even have solid memories of it. There are pictures of me learning to skate with a metal folding chair for support.

 

For 10+ years growing up in Geneva, NY I played in an open air rink within a slapshots distance from Seneca Lake. I remember games where your breath froze to the cage of your helmet and pucks shattered on goal posts. I also remember practices were we had to skate laps to lift the fog.

 

I remember our first trip to Canada and playing teams 2-3 years younger than us and loosing horribly.

 

I fondly recall scoring a Hat Trick in the finals of a Tonawanda or Skaneateles tournament. I remember when we put an ice bucket full of liquid soap into the hotel Jacuzzi/hot tub that same tournament and the fire department had to come to clear out the resulting "sudsageddon."

 

I remember getting dressed in the back of the family van because my dad went one exit to far on the thruway and having to get carried into the arena cause I had my skates on as the team was taking the ice.

 

I remember driving home from some late game through a blizzard and thinking it looked like going into hyperspace in the Millennium Falcon

 

I played all through high school then college. I played in an adult league while going to grad school. I haven't been able to play in the last three years and I feel like a part of me is absent.

 

This game has been a huge physical and sentimental part of my life and watching the Sabres play evokes many of the memories that I hold of playing. Some people upthread have nailed it; like the instant feeling you get when the puck leaves your stick and you just know it's going in, the beauty in a saucer pass across the goal on a 2v1 or the special kind of nerves you get when facing an open net shot in a tied game.

 

It's very much a romantic thing for me. I took a class in college on poetry from languages other than English and we talked about the Japanese idea of "yugen" in a nutshell it's the appreciation of beauty and art, the power to evoke feelings that are inexplicably deep and too mysterious for words, rather that the ability to state directly what something means and Hockey embodies that to me.

 

Awesome .... I experienced your type of memory with my two boys, as a dad. They played travel hockey through high school. Together, 800 games. I think I missed 20. Edited November 17, 2015 by N'eo

[BagBoy]

^^

great post Otto.

[woods-racer]

Ottosmagic13

 

 

Thank you.

 

Passion is the result of living.

[French Collection]

Lots of fond memories flooding in from the 70's.

 

I watch hockey almost every night (not many complete games, lots of channel surfing) and catch 90% of Sabres games.

I listen to the stats talk but prefer to just watch great players, great plays and some good commentary.

I also read quite a bit of hockey information and I don't skip the stats stuff. I don't go looking for it either.

I may attend one NHL game a year, but get to 20 OHL games.

I watch my son practice 2-3 times per week and play games most weekends. 23 games, year to date for his team.

 

Hockey is a big part of our lives and the stats are a small part of my hockey experience. I'm glad someone is compiling them and explains it to me, but I can live without them.

[Neo]

Bucket list - a few weeks driving around Ontario and Quebec seeing OHL and QMJHL games, eating at diners and staying at small town motels. Just hockey. Reading the local papers and talking to the townspeople who've seen all the stars roll through for decades. I've never seen an OHL/QMJHL game. I visited the rink in Peterborough during a summer vacation on our way to Bancroft. My boys and I wanted to see where Steve Yzerman, Tie Domi, and so many more had played. I also detoured through Perry Sound on my to the French River to see Robert Gordon Orr's home a good twenty years after he retired. Hockey is romance.

Edited November 17, 2015 by N'eo

[French Collection]

Get a nice looking, clean motel. Lots of dives around.

[woods-racer]

Bucket list - a few weeks driving around Ontario and Quebec seeing OHL and QMJHL games, eating at diners and staying at small town motels.

 

A skate down the canal in Ottawa could be on this list to burn a few of those diner calories, no?

[Neo]

A skate down the canal in Ottawa could be on this list to burn a few of those diner calories, no?

Perfect ...

Get a nice looking, clean motel. Lots of dives around.

I'll call you before I leave! Ever get to Peterborough? Edited November 17, 2015 by N'eo

[French Collection]

I've been to Peterborough but not for a game. Nice city, lots of hockey history. Met Steve Larmer recently, had a nice chat.

Majority of my games have been in North Bay and Sudbury. I've attended games in Ottawa, Sault Ste Marie, Kitchener and Barrie.

North Bay is my team and has a good atmosphere. Sudbury had an 50's era arena and a stuffed wolf they run out on a clothesline after a goal. Hokey but it's their tradition. Their team has sucked for awhile though.

 

A skate on the canal before a 67's game is a cool thing to do. Have a beaver tail (pastry) at one of the many canal rest stops.

[Stoner]

You needed NO help!

SabreJack, heart attack...

[Neo]

I've been to Dokis and New Liskeard. Spent a few weeks in Algonquin. Honeymooned in Bancroft and spent weeks there over the years - Lake Baptiste. I'd love to get North Bay or Sudbury or Sault Ste Marie. God lives in Ontario.

Edited November 17, 2015 by N'eo