Hockey is a fast paced, think on the fly, live to fight or crash and burn game. Here's what the game looks like from the eyes of an equipment manager. A different perspective of what takes place behind the scenes and on the ice.
Oh, hi! Yea I'm still alive, I know you were all so very concerned. I hope everyone is enjoying their summers as today marks the official end to mine. This afternoon a group of 9 young men join the folds of Maine hockey as our class of 2017. They come from all over and for the next four years Orono is home. I haven't met any of them yet apart from emails so at least I know they can read (or have helper monkeys.) But enough about them, this blog is about me so I am going to tell you what I have been doing for the last 6 months or so since we last crossed paths on the interwebs.
If memory serves me right my last post didn't even finish out the season. As you can imagine things got a little crazy towards the end of the year with tight games and some big ups and major downs. We ended up getting swept by UMass-Lowell in the first round of the Hockey East Playoffs. Not how you want to end a season but not everyone can be a winner. The highlight though was when we went to UNH in the last weekend of the regular season needing a miracle to make playoffs and getting it done. We hadn't won at UNH in a long time and we did not only that in the first game but in game 2 managed a tie in a very hostile barn.
Shortly after the season ended the real "excitement" started and brought us to where we are this morning. Twelve year Black Bear coach Tim Whitehead was removed from his position and Dennis "Red" Gendron was hired on after an extensive search. With a new coach comes new staff and we are happy to welcome back as assistants Jay Leach who was here in the early years of the program, and 1999 National Championship winner Ben Guite. There is a lot of excitement around the team right now, I know I can't wait for puck drop. I do wish I had one more month of summer though.
Kick Ass the Kia
So that's what's new with hockey, here is what I did on my summer vacation, which I know is what you all are dying to read about. I started my summer by sleeping for 2 days straight, which felt amazing. Then I moved to the couch and watched a lot of netflix, and am still watching a lot of netflix. I made a trip home to NY in April and saw the family and some close friends. Every time I go back to East Greenbush (just across the river from Albany) I always get this twinge and realize why I moved to Maine. I love NY, and especially the capital region but there is just something about Orono. In May, I took a trip north to my favorite hide away in Medway Maine. A great campground owned by my second family. I also went back home for a planned military memorial service for my grandfather who passed away this past December. If you ever get the chance Saratoga National Cemetery is absolutely beautiful and is worth a swing around.
In June I said goodbye to a long time friend that has been around since 2001. I got rid of the blue jeep and upgraded to a brand new car. I made the switch to a 2014 Kia Forte that is smarter than I am and gets better gas milage too. Other than that June was pretty boring. I think I played some golf and that was pretty much it.
Hole 9 Martindale CC in Auburn Maine. Home of http://shawnwalshgolf.org/
July started to pick up, I took a week of vacation and made the trip back to Katahdin Shadows Campground and helped with their annual Halloween Weekend festivities. During the week I helped build a haunted maze, played with nail guns, lots of spray glue, and even got to dress as a monkey and make adults cry. It was awesome and I can't wait to do it again. When I got back from my time away it was right back in to the swing of things with two weeks working our hockey camps. I got to spend a week in the dorms, and then a week helping drag 11 year olds around campus. And that brings us to today.
View from the shore at my friend's family camp
So moving forward I think I will be doing a bi-weekly update on here until the season starts going and then I hope to have at least one a week for you guys. I don't know if anyone actually reads these but either way it gives me something to do while laundry is spinning. So enjoy your last few weeks of summer and be jealous that I have AC in my office in the form of a 200'x85' sheet of ice.
So in honor of the Academy Awards finally being over I have decided to make this post my ten favorite and five least favorite movies to watch on a hockey roadie. I'm not quite as funny as Seth MacFarlane but I like to think I'm a lot less expensive so I'm the better deal, and I do look good in a tux.
Before I get to my list here is what I base my decisions on, and keep in mind this is my list and my opinions are my own so if you don't like them well then shut your face and move on.
~First off these movies don't have to be about hockey or sports for that matter. Sometimes it's nice to escape the fact that we are only on the bus to get to the next set of games.
~Secondly the movie has to be viewable on a small screen. The bus doesn't have a 50" HD flat screen so as much as I love big explosions Michael Bay movies just don't work.
~Real acting means nothing, sometimes the best movies are the shittiest ones. If I'm on a bus for 6 hours I want to just melt into the seat and forget I still have 300 miles to go. Matt Damon and Ben Aflfeck I'm looking at you here. Thanks for sucking
~If I have to think while watching the movie you are off my list, and probably added to my shit list. I love a good thriller or drama but if I have to focus on the movie to get all of it this probably wont work. There is too much going on while riding the aluminum pony so something I can fade in and out of is ideal. There are exceptions to this rule as I have an iPad and noise canceling headphones which do let me enjoy my movies without distractions. For the most part though I tend to want to pay attention to my entire surroundings.
So that's how I base my list. Now sit back, grab some poppy corn, and away we go.
Top 10
#10-Miracle
Start the list off with a bang. Probably the best true story sports movie ever made. This plays at least once every season and is perfect for making me forget how much I hate riding the bus. Even the Canadians on the team enjoy this movie because we all get to watch a kid from UNH get the shaft.
#9-Tommy Boy/Black Sheep
I see these movies as one big cluster of awesome. Perfect flicks to sit back and laugh my numb bus butt off. Chris Farley is a genius and David Spade is a tool. What's not to love about this duo?
#8-Billy Madison/Happy Gilmore
Like my #9 selection these two movies are forever attached together as a pile of steaming hot greatness. Adam Sandler doesn't suck like he tends to do now. One movie about an idiot going back to school and the other about an idiot who sucks at hockey and switches to golf. Same character two different movies. "It's all in the hips" can also be used in pretty much any setting and situation that I am ever in.
#7-Almost Famous
A movie about a kid traveling with a band living life on a bus. This almost feels like it could be my life, except for the fact that the only coke that is around our team comes in the bottle and ships from Atlanta, not Tony Montana
#6-Scarface
How about that transition? Almost like I know how to write. This movie is an exception to my rule about focus. This movie is so good I don't care what is going on around me, I will let the bus burn around me to finish this flick. Plus I've seen it so many times I can recite it line for line and don't need to follow it on screen to know what's going on. Anyway, about the movie, it's pure nose gold. It gives me hope that if I work hard enough I can climb to the top of my industry. Now lucky for me there aren't many equipment managers out there that want to kill me for my job.
#5-PCU
A cult classic favorite of mine. A movie about a college campus filled with dumb hippies and a group fighting back to have some unsafe, offensive fun. And it ends with George Clinton and P-Funk.
#4-Wedding Crashers/Hangover/Old School
These movies I have grouped together into what I call the Frat Boy Triumvirate. Pretty much just dumb comedies revolving around parties. I don't need to think, just sit back and laugh at the dick and fart humor.
#3-Will Ferrell
His movies no longer have titles, they are just 2.5 hours of him playing the same character in different settings and every time it makes me laugh and hate my life a little less. Plus there is just something fun about quoting a movie for the entire weekend in the most obscure ways possible.
#2- Super Troopers
This movie only works if we are on a trip to UVM. I hope to one day have the bus pulled over only to have the officer board and play the meow game with the team. A guy can dream can't he?
#1- Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Best movie ever made. I wish it were longer than 90 minutes so that I at least could make it out of Maine before I have to fight to find more entertainment.
Bottom 5
All of these movies have been played on a road trip at one time or another
#5-Inception
I've tried to watch this a few times on a bus and just can't wrap my head around the movie even knowing what's going on. It's a great movie but unless you are paying full attention to it you will get so lost you will think you are on a bus inside a bus inside another bus.
#4-Across the Universe
Another great movie turned to shit because of the open road. Unless you are sitting at home with a 7.1 surround sound system this movie should be avoided. Bus speakers don't do justice to the amazing soundtrack. Plus the plot jumps all over and you need to focus to understand it all.
#3-Battlefield Earth
Why this movie was ever made I will never know. It's just awful. As my friend from back home says any time he hears the title it ruins his day. So this blog post is now dedicated to Ben Lanza.
#2- Schindler's List
I'm not even going to try and explain this one. Just know I have actually had someone put this on while on a road trip.
#1-Twilight
Fuck you Stephenie Meyer
What ever happened to music coming out of a locker room before a game that would actually get people excited to play? The beat of a great bass drum, the crash of a symbol, the surge of an epic guitar solo that will melt your face off. No, instead we here a whiny little weasel crying about some prepubescent love. Athletes have become soft in their music choices. No longer do we hear Metallica or AC/DC it's now Nickelback or T-Swift. How the fuck can a song about it being the end of the world because your boyfriend would rather break up than wife up at age 15 get a room full of 21 adult males ready to play the most physical game around? It just doesn't happen.
Last night I walked in to the locker room right before game time and was shocked to hear Pandora pumping out some top 40 crap that would make me want to shove hot pokers in my ears. I guess maybe I'm old fashioned but there is no way listening to a 16 year old boy sing like a 12 year old girl would ever get me in the right mindset to do anything but commit suicide.
Now that the rage is out of me I am going to post a list of my top 10 pre-game songs and my list of bottom 5. Chances are nobody will agree with me but fuck you this is my blog.
Ritz's Top Ten Pre-Game Songs
10. Kashmir - Led Zeppelin:My college roommate turned me on to this as a great song to listen to before we would play rec soccer. Along with a few shots of tequila we were certainly ready for the game...or the bar after the win.
9. Panama -Van Halen: There is just something about the opening that makes me feel I could go run a marathon. Something that will never happen but would be on my ipod if I were ever to try it.
8. Cliffs of Dover - Eric Johnson: Nothing screams sports like an epic guitar solo or song that is one giant solo.
7. Shoot To Thrill - AC/DC: It has the words SHOOT and THRILL right in the title. What more do you need to get ready for hockey? The game is about shooting a puck and the thrill of when it actually goes where you want it to.
6. Shoot it Out - 10 Years: I picked up this one while in Syracuse. Every so often we would have the music on in the office or while handing out laundry and nothing says folding towels like this song.
5. We Are One Tonight - Switchfoot: Another one who's title says all you need to know about the song as it pertains to a team sport.
4. Baba O'Riley - The Who: Simply put this is my all time favorite song. As with anything from The Who the instrumentals are just awesome. The Blue Man Group cover is pretty good too and often makes it's way to the equipment room speakers on game day.
3. In the Air Tonight - Nonpoint version, although you have to respect Phil. He is wicked hardcore, he wears sneakers with a suit. Even this version spends the whole song building up for the drum solo that makes me want to be Mike Tyson and one punch a bearded freak who tried to steal my tiger.
2. Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin: There is a reason they are one of the best bands ever, so why not get two songs on my list?
1. Enter Sandman - Metallica: If you are an athlete and don't like this song you really aren't an athlete. You probably still have Velcro on your sneakers at age 25.
Ritz's Bottom 5 Songs (I've actually heard all of these in locker rooms before games)
5. Anything Taylor Swift - She's not ugly I will agree with every male on the planet about this but come on. We get it, you date guys, it doesn't work out, you write a song and make millions. Stay off my ipod on game day. But call me next week when you are single again, I could make a good song subject.
4. Anything from any Boy Band - If you are a male athlete and this is playing in your locker room please remove your gear and move down the hall. You are now 3rd line center on the women's club team.
3. Party in the U.S.A. - Miley Cyrus: I worked for a team that would listen to this song right before they took the ice for every game. We did go on a 13-0-2 run while doing it.*
2. Any country song that isn't about drinking - I know there are very few of these songs out there but for the ones that exist stay out of my locker room. I don't care that your wife left you and took the dog, or that your tractor is sexy. Unless you use a tractor as a zamboni, then you win good sir.
1. All things Justin Beiber - I wish someone would just tell him to shut his trap and go live the life of a normal teenage girl.
*I should make the rule that during a winning streak all rules go out the window, as soon as the streak is over though shit music needs to stop.
I hope you all enjoyed my rant, now go watch some hockey and get off the internet.
PS- Nickelback, you get a reprieve from my shit list becasue this is a hockey blog and you are Canadian. You are on a short leash though so either stop sucking or become American so I can hate you with 100% of my being.
Well we may not be exactly on a winning streak we are at least on a 4 game unbeaten streak that includes two wins on the road against Boston College (#3 at the time) and our first win of the season at home Sunday against UMass-Lowell. It was a pretty quick week for us here in Orono. It took a few days for me to recover from the adventures in Providence last week but by Tuesday I was back to my normal crazy self and ended up having a really productive few days at work.
Friday the men hosted Providence College and we ended up tying 2-2 after being down 2-0 late in the 3rd. It was a good game and I think really showed a lot of what this team can do. Saturday the girls played BC in their annual Skating Strides game while I set up for a rare Sunday matchup for the guys. The girls ended up loosing 6-3 but raised a very impressive $4700 in their jersey auction.
Here's my chilli, cooking away in the office. Secret ingredient is skate dust.
Then comes Sunday, Superbowl Sunday to be exact. A day filled with good food, good hockey and "good" beer. In order to fully enjoy the festivities of game I slaved all day over a pot of chilli I had cooking in the equipment room. And by slaving I mean I turned the croc-pot on and left it until kickoff. This sparked an idea though and a new feature that will soon be coming to the equipment room. I decided that for the rest of the year on game days I will have a pot of stew, chilli, or some sort of food going throughout the day. We normally take a lunch break and order out but the idea of having food at the ready makes my mouth water just writing about it. But I digress. Sunday we played UMass-Lowell to end the season series with them. When we first played them back in November we split loosing the first but winning the second. Sunday would be a game of first for us this season. We managed to score 4 goals, win in OT, and do so at home in front of a great crowd. It was a huge monkey to get off our backs and you could tell the mood in the locker room after was one of relief. For the freshmen this was their first ever win at the Alfond which in years past has been almost automatic. It's still hard to believe that it took us until February to pull out the W at the most intimidating arena for visitors in front of the best atmosphere in the college game. All that matters though is that we did it and we can now say we are unbeaten in our last 4 games.
Let me just start this post by saying in as nicely and sportsmanlike as possible, SUCK IT BC! For those of you not in tune with the college hockey world let me give you a quick recap of what transpired with the men this weekend and then I will move on to a retelling of a crazy and fun adventure.
If you couldn't tell the men played Boston College this past weekend and the results were to most very unexpected. To set the stage you first must know that Maine has not won a game at Conte Forum since October of 2005, and have not swept BC on the road since 1993. Well the thing with streaks is that they will eventually end. This was a good weekend for us on the road. We pull in Thursday night, which is custom and drop off our gear in the locker room. After a good night's rest and a quick bite to eat I find myself in game mode setting things up for pre-game skate and later game one. My afternoon was broken up a bit by the appearance of a good friend of mine in town for the Islanders/Bruins game at the TD Garden. It was good to see Phil and hear stories of how he adjusting to life as an Athletic Trainer in the NHL. Once the puck dropped let's just say it was an old fashioned mauling by the Black Bears. The team simply outplayed BC, battled for every puck and played great team hockey. Our goalie had a tremendous game and finished Friday beating the Eagles 4-1 and snapping a 9 game win less streak at BC. What a great feeling it was to pull out an unexpected win, the guys played their hearts out and saw the reward for the hard work.
Saturday was the start of the true adventure of the weekend, and it all started with a text. The women's team had a game at UConn Saturday at noon and was in the pre-game set up and realized that their game jerseys and socks were never put on the bus when they left Orono. Well let's just say that text put the day to a screeching halt as I switched from prep mode to crisis management. Eventually a solution was found to get the team through their game against UConn which they ended up tying the Huskies 1-1 wearing a set of old jerseys from the UConn Men's program. This still let the problem of what to do for their game the next day against Providence.
The Men ended up winning another game against BC Saturday night in great fashion ending the weekend with a combined score of 7-2. The bus was a fun place to be with the guys singing and watching movies... It was great, except for the part where I was trying to get some sleep for what was about to come. I ended up getting about an hour of sleep on the bus and by the time I knew it we were back in Orono and loading my car with the women's uniforms. I managed to get home for a bit and get some time to relax (no sleep though which was no fun) and at 7am set out for Tim Hortons and Providence.
Lucky for me I only had to make it down to Methuen MA and the home of one of my friends who for this weekend is my hero. I arrived at Jerry's around 10:30 and his son and I piled in his truck as he drove the last bit down to Providence. We triumphantly arrived just after the women's bus pulled in and made out delivery. After a quick visit it was back in the car for us and off to lunch.
I can't even describe how good the food was and I only wish I had been more awake to enjoy it fully. After lunch we headed over to the Omni hotel and the Dunkin Donuts Center and met up with Gustav Nyquist who just happened to be in town for the AHL All-Star weekend of which the skills competition was that night. It was great to see Gus as I haven't had the chance to chat with him since his freshman year at Maine. Glad to see him doing well in his career as a pro hockey player. To cap off a great day Marty, Jerry and I went to the AHL Skills comp that night where we got to see Gus fall on his ass twice in his events. Jerry also made a connection with the mascot from the Rockford Ice Hogs, I think those two will be very happy together.
My whirlwind weekend ended with a few hours sleep at Jerry's house followed by a drive back north to Orono Monday morning and after a nice nap I was back at work in time for practice. Hope everyone has a great week, we have a split weekend with a game at home Friday against PC Friars and Sunday against UMass-Lowell with a women's game 7pm Saturday. If you find yourself in town Saturday swing by the Alfond and support the girls in their Skating Strides Cancer game.
Sorry about the length and lack of pictures, next post I promise will have very few words and lost of fun things to look at.
Happy 2013 to all, hope the holidays were good and that Santa brought everyone all the coal they deserved. Sorry that I have been slacking for the last month but I figured since there wasn't much going on through the holidays you wouldn't want to read about all the food I ate and work I didn't do.
The second half of the season started for the Black Bears on Christmas night when we had a team practice here at the Alfond. It was good to get things rolling again as my 4 days off were starting to get boring.The morning of Boxing Day (12/26 for those not in with Canadian holidays) saw us board the bus and then an airplane as we made our annual trip to Fort Myers to co-host the Florida College Classic tournament. We enjoyed the sun and warm weather in which I wore shorts and sandals to the rink every day...wait I do that even in the snow here. The team ended up playing to great games and won the tournament beating Minnesota Duluth and Cornell University. On a side note there is something wicked awesome about Fort Myers that not many know. They have amazing taste in beer at their gas stations. I couldn't go more than 3 feet without seeing ads for beers only found in New England. Shipyard, and Sea Dog were all over the place. And even more surprising was the abundance of Yuengling. To me that was the best part of the trip.
After Florida we had our always fun trip to Portland to play a home game away from home. This season we played Mercyhurst and after a Thursday filled with clinics and autograph sessions the team pulled out a win on Friday. "We won a game yesterday. If we win one today, that’s two in a row. We win one tomorrow, that’s called a winning streak. It has happened before." That quote from the Movie Major League sums up the feeling after Friday's win which was out third in a row. After that win it was time to pack and head back to Orono and set things up for a Saturday night game against the 'hurst. We ended up dropping that game which was not fun.
This past weekend we had another roadie which made me realize I have yet to really unpack from Florida. All that I have done was move the clothes from the bag to the washer, to the dryer and back in my duffel for the next trip. We started the trip at Northeastern where we skated to a 1-1 tie. Not the outcome we were hoping for but a point is a point. Saturday night was a totally different story as we were shutout by Merrimack. Not a great start to 2013 but we are making progress.
On a completely unrelated note I would like to add that I have again made it a full calendar year without ending up dead in some freak accident of my own causing or getting arrested. So 2012 was a win for me!
