Keep The Good Times Rolling

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.

Well That Was Fun!

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.

Oh Hey! A Day At Home!

     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!

Ten Things On The First Half Of The Seaon

With the first semester coming to an end this week the season is pretty much half over for both the men's and women's teams here on campus. It really hasn't been the best of starts for either team with a combined record of 4-25-3 but records don't show the whole story. Both teams are competing very hard but just can't seem to get in the win column. I'm sure this is something that will change in the second half of the season, which is one of the great things about hockey, it's a long season and things can easily turn around. So to round out the top half of the year here is a list of ten things I have come to observe from the season so far.

1. Maine hockey has the best fans in college athletics.
     You can see it pro sports all the time, when a team isn't doing well attendance drops to almost nothing. This is not the case in Orono. Sure there are some empty seats which is not normal for the Alfond, but come game day the students are still outside waiting in line at the crack of dawn. They come loud and proud and make the atmosphere as hostile for the visitors as ever before. Teams still fear playing in Orono and it's because of the fans.

2. If it weren't for the iPad I would go insane.
     Our shortest road trip is 3 hours, and we haven't had that one yet. Most of our trips are closer to 5 when heading in to Boston but can go as long as 6 when going to UMass or UVM. There is nothing worse than sitting on a bus for that long with nothing to do. Lucky for me I always make sure to load my iPad with movies and once the wheels on the bus start going round and round I'm off in my own world.

Next roadie this is what I will be watching

3. I would not want to be an Athletic Trainer, and we have the best AT's in the business
     Last season the men lost maybe 5 man games to injury all year. We were very lucky to have a pretty injury free season in 2011-12. This year it has not been the case as both teams have caught the injury bug. From concussions to knees you name it there are players out with it. It's my job to provide equipment that aids in preventing injury but some things can't be prevented which is the subject for an entire post maybe to come. I also help make adjustments to equipment for when players are coming back from an injury either by adding padding to a piece of equipment or cutting out protection to make room for our AT to add a different type. I can't even fathom how busy our awesome trainer is with all the athletes in his room before and after practices and games. Not something I would want to deal with. Ankle Tape Expert

4. Adidas needs to figure it out when it comes to sizing
     Last season everything from Adidas was too large, this season things are coming in small. This does not make ordering apparel easy. I'm not sure what the logic is behind messing with sizes but it's not cool. A large should fit the same way from year to year. If a sweatshirt one year is labeled as a large and the next year they make it bigger, then change the tag to read XL. Or if they make it smaller make the tag say Medium. The same goes for sneakers, I have worn the same size (12) since I was in 7th grade. Now, without my feet shrinking, I take a size 11 in the same sneaker I have always worn.

Fat Man in a little...Onesie?

5. It's fun to watch the industry improve or degrade from year to year

Stole this picture from CCM...Sorry guys but I figure I pay enough for sticks each year

     Let's just stick with sticks for this point. Last year when the new sticks arrived on campus certain brands seemed to have a leg up on the competition either with weight, feel, or durability. One would think those companies would  already at an advantage wouldn't take a step back but this season there was a leapfrog effect. The companies that seemed a step behind made improvements and launched some pretty impressive products while others seemed to fall into the trap of trying to improve what doesn't need work and actually came out with products that have major issues. Last year if you asked me what stick I would recommend I would tend to say either the Easton RS or EQ50 and to stay away from anything RBK or CCM. This season I would without a second of hesitation say the CCM RBZ is the way to go or the Easton Mako. I would also add the RBK 20K is a pretty decent stick and has seen great improvement from what was produced last year. But again product talk may have to wait for a few posts.

6. Staff pre-game meals are the best

Lobstertail

     Every day when we have a 7 or 8pm face-off you can always find me and the other staff taking a much needed lunch break. Now these are no PB&J and juice box type affairs. If we are at home it usually involves ordering out or making the trip away from the rink for something local. My favorite seems to be Thai or the new go to is the local hotdog place. These trips serve as a way to slow down and relax for a bit before things get crazy come game time. Even better is when we are on the road, specifically Boston. Thanks to a generous friend of our program (FOP) lunches in Boston usually involve a trip to the North End for amazing Italian (anything with veal over fusilli pasta is my go to) always followed by a trip to Mike's Pastry for a lobstertail, which for those out of the loop is a giant cannolli filled with a delicious cream filling. When the North End isn't an option we often venture to a Brazilian cafe owned by the parents of an alum and as always have a great meal. Wherever we end up it's always better than the team's meal which always consists of chicken, pasta and vegetables. Mike's Pastry

7. It's great to have FOPs (Friends Of the Program)
     I don't know where the teams would be without the dedicated FOPs. Now I consider a FOP more than just a fan, a FOP is someone that goes above and beyond for the team without wanting or needing recognition for it (they still get it because they deserve it.) Both the men's and women's teams have booster clubs aptly called Friends of Maine Hockey, and then there are the other FOPs. I wish I could name all of them but knowing that most will probably never even read this I'll keep the list short but just know that I thank them all for all they do for me and the team. Whether it's picking up a mop on game day to help me in the pregame setup, or donating gifts of tools or supplies for the team. So here goes a big thank you to; Jerry LaFlamme, Marty LaFlamme, Pump, Flash, Josh MacDonald, John Halloran, Mark Koscuiszka, Dan Faloon, and Chris Violette. Thanks!

8. Without past experiences I wouldn't be where I am now

I swear I'm not asleep

     There is no doubt in my mind that I wouldn't be where I am today without my year spent at Sacred Heart learning to function without much, or my year at Syracuse where I had access to everything under the sun. I'm spoiled beyond belief here in Orono but there are always things that would be nice to either make my job easier or to make the players experience that much better but we are certainly not hurting. Having seen the best and worst I have been able to find what works for me and when situations come up I have options for solutions that those without the same experience may not think of and at the end of the day I think this gives me an advantage over others.

9. Don't count us out yet
     Hockey is a long season, 40+ games over 6+ months. We are only now at the halfway point for both teams. Things change quickly in this game, all it takes is once bounce in the right or wrong direction and your season is doing a full 180. The men and women are fighters and aren't out yet. Both teams are young and with youth comes mistakes but also with youth comes growth and just wait for these young guns to get their feet under them, both teams will be dangerous and soon.

10. My job is better than yours
     How many people out there can say that they wake up every day and enjoy going to work? Even on the worst days in my job I still wouldn't trade it for the best day at a different job. Every day brings new highs and lows and there is always something going on that's new and exciting. I've seen a lot but not everything. I get to work with 50 of the best athletes and some of the best coaches in college every day, I get to be a part of a program with some of the best history in the game, and I get to make friends with some of the biggest names in the sport that have passed through the doors of the Alfond. Sure my job is a lot of work at times but if it wasn't they wouldn't call it a job, but a little hard work never hurt anybody. Plus I have students employees I can pass the work off to. Speaking of that I luck out with having two of the hardest working students I've ever seen. I need to watch myself or one day one of them might take my job.

So that's my list, if you read it all congrats, you can read. If you just looked at the pictures, congrats for that because it means you aren't blind. I probably wont update this until after I come back from Florida with the men's team. We travel down for a tournament every year and I must say I don't think I will spend any free time inside with a laptop but rather be outside trying not to get bitten by a gater. I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday and a great start to 2013. Or if the world ends on 12/21/12 well then bring on the zombies.
    

How I Came to Love Hockey?

 Spend enough time around the game and you'll notice that every team has it's ups and downs. Whether it's over the course of a few games, an entire season or even a run a little longer, nobody wins every game. It's the numbers in the loss column that make the numbers in the win column mean something, and seem that much more special. I guess since right now both the men's and women's team find themselves in a bit of a funk that I keep thinking of why I choose to love this game. It dawned on me that I never really took the time at the start of this blog to explain how it came to be that I fell in love with this game and ended up in my current position. Today seems like as good as any so here goes.
I guess you can say I took a round about way to finding hockey. I grew up playing soccer and actually never really learned to skate until I got to college. I had a pond in my back yard growing up and would always lace up the skates and putter around but I never had any edges on my blades so turning and stopping were impossible and I kind of just glided around and pushed a puck. I can track my passion for the game back to my mother of all people, she is the true fan of the family and she got her love for the game from my grandfather. I remember back as a child being taken to an AHL game in Portland Maine back when the city was home to the Maine Mariners. I can't tell you anything more specific other than going to games. I also remember when Albany (my home town) was home to the Capital District Islanders, although I don't remember ever going to games I am sure I did. The spark ignited for me when in 1993 Albany switched franchises from the Islanders to the New Jersey Devils and from that the River Rats were born as the top AHL affiliate for the Devils. I remember going to games that first season and having so much fun, and then in the second season the team ended up winning the Calder Cup. I still remember my favorite players from that team Steve Sullivan, Mike Dunham, Corey Schwab, Eric Bertrand, Scott Pellerin. Watching those guys play was so much fun for me, especially Sullivan who I will still watch in the NHL.

Steve Sullivan with Albany

It was after that championship season that I then started to follow and understand player movement between the NHL and AHL, I not only had my favorite Rats but would then follow them to play with the Devils. I remember going to games in Albany and seeing Patrik Elias fly up the ice, now I watch in awe as he skates with the Devils and am one of many that consider him the most under-rated player in the NHL. I consider myself lucky to get the chance to see a lot of today's greats develop into the players they are now. Brian Gionta, Zack Parise, Petr Sykora, Jay Pandolfo, John Madden among many others graced the ice of the Times Union Center.
I remember back in the mid 90's was when I also started to pick up some of the history of the game. Growing up in NY only hours from Lake Placid it comes as no surprise I learned about the Miracle on Ice pretty young. This event is to me the pinnacle of the game. Having seen the entire US/USSR game many times now I can say that I still get choked up when Mike Eruzione puts that puck in, or when Al Michaels makes his famous call "Do you believe in Miracles? Yes!" I just wish I had been alive to see the team, but 1980 was 5 years before I was even born so I live through the stories.

1980 Olympic Team

Now fast forward from that little kid in the stands to the high school senior still trying to find a college. I had no clue what I wanted to go to school for so I added to my search criteria that I wanted the ability to do something on weekends. I figured why not explore schools with college hockey so that I could attend games in my free time. After visiting a few schools and not getting that "ah ha" moment I added the University of Maine to my list. I had always known of the school having spent my summers in Maine at my grandfather's. I had always somehow found myself hearing about the teams that the Black Bears were putting together and remember them winning the NCAA title in 1999. I figured why not visit the school and see what that would be like, well long story short I set foot on campus and knew I needed to attend. I'd like to say it was all academic but it wasn't, I realized if I wanted to be able to watch college hockey why not attend the school with the best atmosphere in the game. I knew I wanted to call the Alfond home.

2007 Frozen 4 with Barry Melrose

From my days as a student attending games, and helping to lead the students in cheers and jeers I migrated into the arena office and from there down in to the locker room. Never realizing what went in to putting a team on the ice, my first day in the equipment room at Maine was an eye opener. After the equipment manager had asked for help one day in folding bags I knew that I wanted to never leave. I consider myself extremely lucky to have met my mentor and good friend Josh MacDonald that day. I have learned 99% of my job from one person, first as the kid that pretty much wouldn't leave and then as the volunteer that never stopped. I'm forever in debt for being able to learn from such a great teacher. If I thought I had loved the game as a spectator that was nothing compared to how much I love the game as seen from the inside.

I've been lucky enough in my short career to work in a variety of different locations and with varying success. My first job was at Sacred Heart University working with both their men's and women's team and lets just say it was a learning experience. I had the chance to work with some of the best athletes I have ever been around but in one of the worst situations I think I could have found myself in. Had it not been for the athletes I don't think I would have survived the year. After Sacred Heart I found myself at Syracuse University working for their women's team. This was in short, an amazing year. I don't think I have had as much fun going to work every day than I did with Syracuse. Now I find myself back in Orono, and couldn't be happier. I had the chance to take my dream job, something that I didn't think would ever be open to me. Every day I wake up and think how cool it is that I get to go to work in the same building that saw greats like Paul Kariya, Garth Snow, Jimmy Howard, Bob Corkum, Gustav Nyquist Shawn Walsh. I still can't even start to wrap my head around the fact that I have gotten to meet some of these greats and can even call some my friends.

Me working at Syracuse Univeristy

So the teams might be in a bit of a slump, and sure loosing sucks but at the end of the day I still love hockey. I am still the luckiest person out there because when I wake up tomorrow I get to go to a job I love. The worst day in my job is still better than the best day I can imagine behind the desk at any other job. All of the dirty laundry, and broken equipment is better than reports to file, or products to sell.
So I hope this distracted you all for a bit, or for those of you reading this at night I hope it will help you sleep. The men have finished the first half of our season and don't see a game until after XMas and the girls have two left before their mid season break. I'm feeling a solid second half from both teams and I think with that these posts should get more exciting for everyone. So until the next time I hope everyone's skates are sharp and sticks taped.

Enjoy the Off Days

Sorry to be so late in getting this new post out but things have been a little busy in the equipment room lately. Here's a quick update for those of you that care, and for everyone else skip a paragraph to get to some entertainment.
So far the Men's team is sitting at a record of 2-9-1 which is far from where we want to be at this point. The boys are working hard but pucks aren't bouncing our way. We only have 3 games left to finish out the first half and we certainly will be working to climb out of the hole. If any team can do it I know these guys can. The girls are have a current record 2-7-1 and as I write this they are prepping for a Thanksgiving game against the Russian Women's National Team. I have to admit I haven't been able to see as many practices and games for the girls as I would like but knowing their work ethic and skill things will turn around in no time. Both teams this season have rosters packed with young players and as any team with a lot of freshmen there are growing pains. Players need to adapt to speeds and skill levels they haven't been used to but both sets of first year players will most certainly adapt and improve. I wouldn't write either Black Bear team off in the second half.
So now that the update is over I thought I would take this time to share my thoughts on my favorite events in the hockey world. The rare day off mid season.
I love my job but even I need to sometimes take a break and get away from the rink. Since September and the start of classes I can count on one hand the number of days that I didn't work in at least some form. Combining working for both teams and their differing schedules I can pretty much bet that I will work 7 days a week. Taking the average most days I'm in around 8am and leave sometime around 6pm. Game days that's upped from an 9 hour day to a 14 hour day. But don't take only this as complaining, because it's far from it. I wouldn't ever want to work a normal desk job, I'd get bored, and I also don't know many jobs that let me wear shorts year round.
With Thanksgiving this week students were able to go home after Tuesday which allowed our teams to have morning practices. The girls play a rare Thanksgiving day game against the Russian Women's National team and the guys are actually off for a few days. This gives me the chance to catch my breath and relax. Neither team has a game this upcoming weekend so I'm going to turn on the lazy switch and spend some time on my couch. It's nice to get the chance to recharge the batteries and come back refreshed.
So to everyone out there I hope you enjoy any time off you get this holiday season, stuff your face with great food and spend time with friends and family. Also never forget to tip your equipment guys this time of year... we need our beer money so that when the players are away we can play.

No I'll leave you with some random pictures to make up for my lame post.

For those thinking this blog was about hockey, here is our bench

I'm guessing rather than turkey this is what a shark eats on thanksgiving

Quick shout out to my friend Dave who is a total sieve

History Lesson

Here is a little history lesson to brighten everyone's day. November 1st marked the 53rd birthday of the hockey goalie mask. Yes that means that 54 years ago goalies were playing without facial protection. And I thought goalies were nuts now, I guess they have calmed down a little in the last half century. Now I am sure everyone knows the story of how the first mask entered in to the game but for those that don't I'll tell you.
In a game between the NY Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens, Habs goaltender Jacques Plante was struck in the face while blocking a shot. Plante had to leave the game to get his face stitched back together but would return to play the rest of the game,with a simple shield covering his face. What started out as a plain piece of protective equipment simply made to cover the face and protect against lacerations has now evolved into one of the most elaborate pieces of sporting equipment out there.
Plante's mask was just a piece of white plastic, no design to it, and it just covered the face. Now the mask has evolved into a full helmet, covering every part of the head and protecting against impact as well as cuts and scratches. No longer made from plastic today's masks are at the edge of new technology, fiber-glass is now the primary material used which makes today's mask lighter and stronger than ever before. What truly sets a goaltender apart though is not what his mask is made of though, it's more what artwork adorns the brain bucket.
To goalies their mask is a way to express themselves and project this to the fans. A new mask is a new canvas for goalie and painter to come together and create a masterpiece. But hey, rather than me go on about the artwork that goes on a mask why don't I just show pictures of some masks. Many of the masks below have been painted by my friend Heath at EzAirFx for more of his work please visit his site at www.ezairfx.com

David Wilson's mask from 2009-'10 featuring Maine greats

Back of Wilson's mask

My friend Andy's mask that the great Frank Cipra did for him

Other side of Wilson's mask featuring the Stein Song, and Maine fans... I'm the bottom right fan under the "E"

A simple design for a Oli St. Onge while at Sacred Heart

And to finish it off a video of Jimmy Howard chatting about his mask from 2011-2012 season. Enjoy!