Absurd Goalie Monday: Mike Moffat

Talking about going with a hot hand into the end of the season and into the playoffs, that's what this AGM did right out of the gate. However, through some happenstance and just mental drain, he was not able to fully have a lasting career. This week, the profile of Mike Moffat.

Moffat made his mark on the junior scene starting in the 1979-80 season with the OHL's Kingston Canadians, going 7-7-1 in 21 appearances, then losing one of the two playoff appearances he had. Moffat jumped into the starting role in the 1980-81 season, playing in 51 games, finishing 33-21-3 while going 6-6 in 14 playoff games. During the 1981-82 season, Moffat played in 46 games for Kingston, pacing himself to a 19-21-4 record, then 0-1 in four playoff games.

However, the peak of the 1981-82 season was Moffat's selection to the Canadian World Juniors team and being the starting goalie. Moffat would go 3-0-1 in four games on the way to a Canadian gold medal. Moffat was named Best Goaltender in the tournament and to the All-Star Team in the tournament.

A draftee of the Boston Bruins in 1980, Moffat was called up after the 1982 playoffs by the Bruins and he was thrown into the cage immediately, going 2-0-0 in his two games of the 1981-82 season, then posted a 6-5 record in 11 playoff games with the Bruins. During the 1982-83 season, Moffat only played 13 games with the Bruins and put up a 4-6-1 record. The other half of that season, Moffat was with the AHL's Baltimore Skipjacks, going 5-8-3 in his 17 appearances.

The bulk of the 1983-84 season saw Moffat in the AHL with the Hershey Bears, playing in 30 games and finishing with a record 8-13-4, while also going 1-1-1 in four games of action with the Boston Bruins. Staying in the AHL in the 1984-85 season, Moffat was playing for the Cape Breton Oilers and would lose the only game he played in. After that, he announced his retirement from professional hockey.

Hockey wasn't done overall for Moffat, as he would go to play Canadian college hockey with Wilfrid Laurier University in the 1985-86 season, finishing with a 5-1-0 record in six games. During the 1986-87 season, Moffat took his turn at the Canadian National Team in hopes of trying out for the 1988 Olympics. Moffat went 2-3-1 in six games and did not play beyond that stint, retiring for real after that.

It wasn't until later that it was made public that Moffat wasn't able to handle the nerves and pressure professional hockey brought. Moffat was homesick, dealt with insomnia, and chronic headaches. After getting out of hockey, Moffat turned to Canadian hardware store Rona, where he is an outside sale representative for the company. Moffat stills played in an Over-40 league, but never in goal.

Moffat said himself that if you didn't want the job, a dozen goalies were waiting in the wings. Especially in the 1980s, it was probably much more horrifying than it is today. Though he was able to show signs of greatness, Moffat wasn't able to take the grind-- probably one of the few to actually admit that.

Absurd Goalie Monday: Nick Ricci

While this week's AGM's heart was in his hometown of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada-- he took a lot of things on the road with him to remind him of home-- even if it was indirectly. Through it all, he struggled to keep his spot in the organization; he knew he had something to go home to and take more pride in his home, trying to show it off to the world of hockey somehow. This week-- the profile of Nick Ricci

Ricci started his trek during the 1976-77 season with the Junior "B" Toronto Red Wings, while also spending seven games with the OHL's Niagara Falls Flyers-- Ricci's hometown team. The 1977-78 season, Ricci spent all of it with the Junior "B" Red Wings, while playing 52 games with Niagara Falls in the 1978-79 season, then taking them to the OHL Finals, but losing on points to the Peterborough Petes. Ricci would win the 1979 Dave Pinkney Award with Glen Ernst for lowest team GAA, as well as the F.W. Dinty Moore Award for lowest rookie GAA.

One of the interesting things about Ricci is that he would always carry around a gallon of Niagara Falls distilled water jugs. While he used it to soak his contacts in, many of his teammates thought it was because he couldn't be too far away from his hometown at any time.

The Pittsburgh Penguins would draft Ricci in the 5th round of the 1979 Draft and would play four games with the parent club, going 2-2-0; using his acrobatics to earn himself playing time behind a bad defensive team . Most of the 1979-80 season would be spent in the IHL with the Grand Rapids Owls for 29 games and a 4.28 GAA.The 1980-81 season saw Ricci with the Penguins for nine games and post a 4-5-0 record, while he would move to the AHL's Binghamton Whalers for eight games and finishing with a 2-4-0 record.

The bulk of the 1981-82 season, Ricci found his footing with the AHL's Erie Blades, playing for 40 games that season and compiling a 16-19-4 record; getting called up to Pittsburgh for three games-- all losses. For the 1982-83 season, Ricci went to the AHL's Baltimore Skipjacks for nine games and put up a 3-3-2 record, while getting a call-up to Pittsburgh to have a 1-2-0 record in his three games.

In August 1983, Ricci and Pat Graham were traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Vincent Tremblay and Rocky Saganiuk. The 1983-84 season had Ricci split between the AHL's Newmarket Saints for 15 games, mostly in relief with a 3-4-1 record; then spending the other half of the season with the IHL's Muskegon Mohawks where he would go 1-11-1 in 13 games.

The 1984-85 season would be Ricci's last, as he played for the IHL's Peoria Rivermen and post a 4-3-0 record in seven appearances; then he would hang-up the pads after that season.

Post-playing career, Ricci would help out with the family business-- taking ownership over the Hotel Fallsview in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Ricci sold the hotel in 2000. In June 2002, Ricci purchased the Mississiauga Ice Dogs from Don Cherry, selling the team to Chris Pronger and Mario Forgione in February 2003; less than a year after buying it. Ricci then was the head of trying to bring an OHL team back to Niagara Falls, with no results thus far. Currently, Ricci has his own goaltending consulting firm, Goalies Only Consulting.

Ricci had very little time to show off what he could truly do and bounced around a lot-- but he at least remembered where his home was and seemed to take pride in that fact and take part of it with him-- even if it was just for his eyes. Though his NHL career was only 19 games long, he left an impression as being indirectly part of getting the Pens Mario Lemieux by getting the Tremblay.

Absurd Goalie Monday: Mike Bales

This week's AGM isn't one you would think of because....well it was a career marred in downside rather than upside. It wasn't until he was on another continent for him to reach a top potential. While his North American career started bad and had a few bright spots-- after he left the strain of the NHL hopes, he was able to actually show his true worth. This week, the profile of Mike Bales.

Bales started off his career with the Saskatchewan Junior League's Estevan Bruins, playing in 44 games with a 4.90 GAA; but it was good enough to get him onto The Ohio State University Buckeyes starting in the 1989-90 season where he would go 6-13-2 in 21 games. The Boston Bruins selected Bales in the fifth round, but Bales stayed with the Buckeyes for the 1990-91 season, posting an 11-24-3 record, then in the 1991-92 season; Bales put up an 11-20-5 record for the Buckeyes, leaving school after that season.

In the 1992-93 season, Bales went pro and would play mostly for the AHL's Providence Bruins as he would put together a 22-17-0 record; then going 0-2 in the playoffs, while also playing in a game for the Bruins in relief of John Blue, but did not factor in the decision. Bales stayed in Providence for the 1993-94 season, but have a dismal season with a 9-15-4 record.

Bales signed on with the Ottawa Senators in the summer of 1994 and he would be placed with the PEI Senators for most of the 1994-95 season, posting a 25-16-3 record, as well as a 6-3 playoff record, though they would lose in the division semi-finals. Bales also appeared in a relief appearance for Ottawa that season-- not a factor for the win or loss. The 1995-96 season had Bales in the carousel for the Ottawa Senators goaltending, playing 20 games while going 2-14-1 while facing a barrage of shots-against. In PEI that season, Bales lost both games he appeared in. For the 1996-97 season, Bales was in the AHL, but for the Baltimore Bandits finishing the year with a 13-21-8 record in 47 games, while losing the only game he appeared in with Ottawa.

The Buffalo Sabres signed Bales for the 1997-98 season, but would put him in the AHL for the Rochester Americans where Bales would play in 39 games and go 13-19-5 record.

Bales then moved to the Dallas Stars organization, playing for their IHL affiliate of the Michigan K-Wings starting in the 1998-99 season; posting an 11-17-3 record that season and then a 9-9-5 record in 25 games during the 1999-2000 season. The Stars moved their affiliate to the Utah Grizzlies, as Bales would play 50 games in the 2000-01 season and compile a 22-19-3 record.

With no chances in North America, Bales moved to Great Britain for the 2001-02 season with the Belfast Giants in the British Elite League, playing in 34 games, posting a 2.31 GAA, and winning Best Goaltender Award, as well as making the First Team All-Stars.

Bales would move over to Germany for the 2002-03 season for ERC Ingolstadt, playing in 23 games there, while moving to Sweden in the 2003-04 season to play with Leksands IF for another 23 games.

With the 2004-05 season, Bales went back to Germany and went to the second division Straubing Tigers where he would help them get a promotion into the Germae Elite League for the 2006-07 as Straubing won the promotion in the 2006 playoffs. Bales would leave Straubing in 2010 after playing in 250 games over six seasons. While Bales was signed by the Iserlohn Roosters for the 2010-11 season, it was only on an emergency basis and he never went over, thus ending his career.

The Pittsburgh Penguins would sign Bales to be the goaltender development coach for their AHL, ECHL, and other prospects down their pipeline. The 2012-13 season will be his second with the team.

It wasn't the most glamorous career and had many more potholes in the road rather than smooth sailing. It wasn't until he went overseas did he get his most success when he had matured more and didn't have the pressure of worrying of the shuttling back and forth from the minors to the top teams. Yet, he helped one franchise in Germany get promoted and make a name for himself enough to be a developmental coach.

Absurd Goalie Monday: Scott Gordon

From humble begins to a decent college career and a scrambled pro career, this week's AGM could be more notable for his coaching career than his playing career. In fact, many may forget his playing time-- which I wouldn't blame many for as he may not be the most recognized former player turned coach. This week, the profile of Scott Gordon.

Gordon started his career in Boston high schools with the Oliver Ames Tigers and then moving onto New Hampshire prep academy Kimball Union Academy.

After his prep career was done, Gordon moved on to the Boston College Golden Eagles for his college days, starting in the 1982-83 season, going 3-3-0 in nine games. The 1983-84 season saw Gordon get plenty of time in next, playing 35 games and finishing with 21-13-0 record. Gordon was again the starter for BC in the 1984-85 season, going 23-11-2 in 36 appearances. During the Frozen Four of 1985, Gordon and former AGM Chris Terreri were the first pair of goalies to put water bottles on the top of their net during the triple-overtime game, seeing Providence beat BC 4-3. Gordon's senior year in 1985-86 had a 17-8-1 record in 32 games, to which Gordon got named to the Hockey East First All-Star Team.

Before the 1986-87 season, Gordon was signed by the Quebec Nordiques, but spent that season toiling in the AHL for 32 games with the Fredericton Express finishing with a 9-12-2 record. In the 1987-88 season, Gordon stayed in the AHL, but with the Baltimore Skipjacks, going 7-17-3 in 34 games. However, the 1988-89 season had Gordon play the majority of the season with the ECHL's Johnstown Chiefs, going 18-9-3 in 31 games, then 7-4 in 11 playoffs games; which helped Gordon get named to the ECHL First All-Star Team. Gordon also spend two games back in the AHL with the Halifax Citadels that season, both losses.

The 1989-90 season is where Gordon got some better footing in Halifax and putting up a 28-16-3 record, then 2-4 in the playoffs. Also, Gordon would get called up to Quebec in mid-season for 10 games, going only 2-8-0 in those games. The 1990-91 season was a bit dismal, as Gordon would play only 24 games in Halifax with a 12-10-2 record and appear in 13 games with Quebec, sporting a 0-8-0 record. Gordon would play for the US in the World Championships, losing his only appearance.

For the 1991-92 season, Gordon spent the start of it with the United States National Team in hopes of playing in the 1992 Olympics. He played 28 games with the touring team, putting up a 13-12-3 record, while playing on one games in the Olympics, but did not factor in the decision. Once he returned, Gordon played seven games for Halifax (3-3-1) and four games for the New Haven Nighthawks of the AHL (3-1-0).

Gordon was a free-agent by the 1992-93 season, opting to play in the ECHL with the Nashville Knights, putting together 13-9-1 record in 23 games, then going 5-4 in nine playoff games. Gordon would move to the Knoxville Cherokees for the 1993-94 season, finishing with a 15-10-1 record in 26 games, while also getting a call to the IHL's Atlanta Knights to play in five games, finishing with a 0-1-3 record.

In 1994, Gordon retired and began coaching with the Atlanta Knights as an assistant and would be with the team from 1994 until 1998, when the team was then the Quebec Rafales. Starting in 1998, Gordon got a head coaching job in the ECHL with the Roanoke Express, a post he would hold for two seasons. From the 2000-01 season until the 2007-08 season, Gordon would coach the AHL's Providence Bruins, winning the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award for Coach of the Year in his last season. In the 2008-09 season, Gordon became the head coach of the New York Islanders, but after a couple dismal seasons-- he would be dismissed as the head coach in the middle of the 2010-11 season. Currently, Gordon is an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Gordon has also helped USA Hockey as an assistant in the 2009 World Championships and 2010 Olympics and the 2011 Worlds as the head coach.

While he didn't do much for some lackluster teams, the knowledge picked up and the international experience that Gordon was able to pick up was something that is invaluable. With the amount of situations he's been in, it has helped Gordon adapt to whatever is thrown his way.

Absurd Goalie Monday: Bill Oleschuk

This week's AGM could be one of the more well travelled players on this list. From all the travels in the minors to playing for the same organization in two different locations-- this week's AGM definitely was able to see North America. though his career wasn't what he could have hoped for, he did keep hacking at it when the chips seemed to be down-- including many teams folding during the season. This week, the profile of Bill Oleschuk. 

The Edmonton native started in the 1971-72 with the AJHL's Edmonton Maple Leafs, while playing one game in the WCJHL with the Winnipeg Jets. The 1972-73 season allowed Oleschuk to go back to Edmonton to play for the Mets, while in the 1973-74 season, he moved to Saskatchewan to play 10 games with the Prince Albert Raiders in the SJHL, then 11 games for the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL. The 1974-75 season allowed Oleschuk to play for the Lethbridge Broncos of the WCJHL for two games, then his rights sold over to the Saskatoon Blades-- playing 44 games, putting up a 24-12-5 record, then going 7-5 in the playoffs. Oleschuk got WCJHL top goaltender honors for his efforts. 

In the 1975 Draft, Oleschuk was drafted 110th overall by the Kansas City Scouts, where he would only play one game in the 1975-76 season for them, a loss. The rest of the 1975-76 season, Oleschuk played in the IHL with the Port Huron Flags for 44 games. The 1976-77 season saw Oleschuk play three games in the CHL for the Oklahoma City Blazers (0-3-0), but spent the majority of the year with the Southern League Baltimore Clippers, finishing with a 15-14-1 record for the season in 30 games, but the team folded before the season ended. 

When the Scouts move to Colorado to become the Rockies, Oleschuk's rights went there, too. He would only play two games with the Rockies that year, both loses. The rest of the 1977-78 season, Oleschuk bounced around the minors-- playing nine games with the CHL's Phoenix Roadrunners (2-6-1) before that team folded, 11 games with the Hampton Gulls of the AHL (1-9-1) before they folded, two games with the Philadelphia Firebirds of the AHL (0-1-0), and 13 games with the IHL's Flint Generals to end the year.

The 1978-79 season was a bit more grounded for Oleschuk-- playing with the Rockies for the entire season; getting in 40 games and putting up a 6-19-8 record. Oleschuk would play 12 games for the Rockies in the 1979-80 season (1-6-2), but would spend the rest of the season with the CHL Fort Worth Texans, going 24-14-3 in 43 games. Staying in Fort Worth for the 1980-81 season, Oleschuk went 10-22-1 in 36 games. 

It was a short-lived 1981-82 season, as Oleschuk played only seven games all year with the CHL's Dallas Black Hawks, going 2-4-0. The 1982-83 season, Oleschuk played 29 games for the IHL's Peoria Prancers, then one game with the Fort Wayne Komets in the 1983-84 season before he would hang-up this pads for good. 

With all the teams folding around him, you may think of him as a kiss of death for some organzations. That said, the well-travelled goalie was able to see North America and experience every kind of setting. He got lost in the shuffle of an expansion team and one that relocated in the NHL; but was able to try and do his best with not-so-good minor league teams, too. 

Absurd Goalie Monday: Denis DeJordy

This week, the focus on the AGM is for a guy who kind of changed the way the game is played-- yet not for his on-ice prowess, per se. What he did after his career has changed the way goaltending is handled today and made many discussion topics should things in net start to go wrong. Not to say his playing career wasn't shabby, but he could be a little more remembered for his first gig post-retirement. This week, the profile of Denis DeJordy.

DeJordy's first presence was with the Junior B Dixie Beehives before really making a name for himself in the 1957-58 season with the St. Catherine Teepees, going 32-14-6 in 52 games, while getting in one game in the AHL with the Buffalo Bisons, which was a loss. Returning to the Teepees in the 1958-59 season, DeJordy went 40-10-3 in 53 games, then 2-4-1 in the playoffs, as well as being named to the OHA First All-Star Team. DeJordy would also get the call by the Peterborough Petes for the 1959 Memorial Cup, but would go 1-4 against the Winnipeg Braves in the Finals.

Starting in the 1959-60 season, DeJordy moved to the new Eastern Professional League to play for the Sault Ste. Marie Thunderbirds where he would play 69 games and finish that year with a 27-31-11 record. The 1960-61 season had DeJordy start out in Sault Ste. Marie for 33 games (16-14-3) before moving up to the AHL and the Buffalo Bisons, playing in 40 games and finishing there with with a 20-18-2 record, then going 0-4 in the playoffs.

The 1961-62 season saw DeJordy return to Buffalo, where he would go 36-30-3 in 69 games, while then going 6-5 in 11 playoff games, losing to Springfield in the Calder Cup finals. DeJordy had his sights set on a championship when he came back to Buffalo in the 1962-63 season, going 37-23-7 in 67 games, then going 8-5 in 13 playoff games, helping the Bisons win the Calder Cup that season. DeJordy racked up the awards, too-- winning the Hap Holmes Trophy for fewest goals-against; the Les Cunningham Award for AHL MVP; and named to the AHL's First All-Star Team. Also in '62-'63, DeJordy made five appearances for the Chicago Blackhawks, going 2-1-2 in those games.

The 1963-64 season had DeJordy not playing much, as he play only one game with the Central Professional League's St. Louis Braves (a loss) and then only six games with the Chicago Blackhawks, finishing 2-3-1. It picked up in the 1964-65 season, as DeJordy played 30 games in Chicago, going 16-11-3-- as well as seven games in Buffalo for the Bisons, going 3-4-0 in that time. However, DeJordy was relegated to the Central Pro League with the St. Louis Braves in the 1965-66 season, playing 70 games and compiling a 30-31-9 record in the regular season and 1-4 record in five playoff games. DeJordy was named to the CPHL's First All-Star Team that season.

DeJordy returned to Chicago for the 1966-67 season, splitting duties with Glenn Hall and finishing with a 22-12-7 record in 44 games, then 1-2 in four playoff appearances. DeJordy and Hall would win the Vezina Trophy for the season, in a time where both goalies were rewarded for fewest goals-against in a season. Starting in the 1967-68 season, DeJordy got the majority of the playing time in Chicago, as he would play 50 games that season and finish up with a 23-15-11 record, then compiling a 5-6 playoff record. DeJordy struggle in Chicago during the 1968-69 season, playing in 53 games with Chicago, going 22-22-7, but would be sent down to the Central League's Dallas Blackhawks for 15 games, going 8-4-3 in those appearances. DeJordy started the 1969-70 season with Chicago, playing in 10 games with a 3-5-1 record, but his time there would be short.

DeJordy would be traded to the Los Angeles Kings late in the season, playing in 21 games to end the season and have a 5-11-4 record to show for it. Getting a full season with Los Angeles in the 1970-71 season, DeJordy would play in 60 games and finish with an 18-29-11 record. The 1971-72 season saw DeJordy only play five games, all losses, for the Kings before being on the move again.

DeJordy was traded to the Montreal Canadiens after those five games, which brought Rogie Vachon to Los Angeles in return. With a short stint, DeJordy went 3-2-1 in the seven games with the Canadiens.

DeJordy was on the move again, getting traded in the Summer of 1972 to the New York Islanders, but would never play there-- as he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings before the 1972-73 season, where he would play 24 games and wrap up an 8-11-4 record. He would always be sent to the Central League's Fort Worth Wings for ten games that season. The 1973-74 season had DeJordy play with the Baltimore Clippers of the AHL, going 21-13-6 in 42 games, named to the AHL's Second All-Star Team. DeJordy played only one game in Detroit that year, a loss. DeJordy retired after that season.

Immediately following his retirement, DeJordy became the first ever goalie coach in the NHL, as he would be in charge of Jim Rutherford and Doug Grant starting in the 1974-75 season. Also, during his playing days-- DeJordy owned a sporting good store in Quebec in the off-season.

Though his playing career didn't seem to leave a huge mark, the fact he pioneered the goaltender's coach position allowed more one-on-one direction to the goalies and actually give them the attention they need to focus on the game. Even so, DeJordy had a solid career and learned enough from his time to pass onto others.

Absurd Goalie Monday: Mike O'Neill

With the Winnipeg Jets showing their new identity, what better chance to review the career of another Jet goalie, right?? However, while most of his appearances were in relief, he did have a decent amount of time in Winnipeg. Yet, the one thing he does share with the new Winnipeg Jets-- no wins in the NHL yet. This week, the profile of Mike O'Neill.

The Montreal native forged his way with Midget AAA with the Lac St-Louis Lions starting in the 1982-83 season, playing in 20 games that season with a 7-8-5 record. The 1983-84 season saw O'Neill have a better go, finishing with a 13-7-2 record in 22 games with the Lions.

After spending a year at Lower Canada College, O'Neill moved to Yale University for the 1985-86 season. O'Neill was slowly worked in at Yale, going 3-1-0 in six games during that first season; but would get increased time in the 1986-87 season, playing in 16 games with a 9-6-1 record-- taking home ECAC First-Team All-Star honors. As he took over the starting role in the 1987-88 season, O'Neill's number slipped, going only 6-17-0 in 24 games-- but it was enough for the Winnipeg Jets to pick O'Neill in the 1988 Supplemental Draft. With a team behind him, O'Neill bounced back for his season season in the 1988-89 campaign, going 10-14-1 in 25 games, which was enough for O'Neill to get yet another ECAC First-Team All-Star honors and NCAA East First All-American Team.....though it's odd since he's Canadian.

While his college career was over, O'Neill didn't jump to the North American professional ranks right after that. Instead, he went overseas to play in Finland with Tappara Tampere in the 1989-90 season and got plenty of playing time, going 23-13-5 in 41 games, then going 3-4 in the playoffs.

O'Neill returned to North America for the 1990-91 season, starting off with the IHL's Fort Wayne Komets and playing in eight games (5-2-1) before making the move to the AHL's Moncton Hawks for 30 games and going 13-7-6 in the regular season, while going 3-4 in eight playoff games. The 1991-92 season had O'Neill traveling a lot, starting off in Fort Wayne for 33 games and a 22-6-3 record, then he would spend a game in Winnipeg, coming on in relief for a game. The end of the season had O'Neill setting in Moncton, posting a 14-16-2 record in the regular season, then went 4-7 in 11 playoff games. The 1992-93 season had O'Neill start off in Moncton, playing for 30 games with a 13-10-4 record before getting the call-up to Winnipeg-- playing in two games and going 0-0-1 before having to miss the rest of the season due to shoulder surgery in February. When O'Neill came back in the 1993-94 season, he went through another whirlwind traveling schedule, starting off in Fort Wayne and finishing with a 4-4-3 record in 11 games before he moved onto Moncton, going 8-4-0 in 12 appearances. Finally, O'Neill got the call to Winnipeg to back-up former AGMs Bob Essensa and Tim Cheveldae-- appearing in 17 games and posting up a dismal 0-9-1 record.

The 1994-95 season had O'Neill stuck in the IHL, first with Fort Wayne, playing for 28 games with a 11-12-4 record before he was traded to the Phoenix Roadrunners. With Phoenix, O'Neill had a 13-4-4 record in 21 games, then a 4-5 record in nine playoff games.

O'Neill signed as a free agent with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and was sent to the AHL's Baltimore Bandits for the 1995-96 season. O'Neill had plenty of playing time in Baltimore, playing 74 games and finishing with a 31-31-7 record, then going 6-6 in 12 playoff games. O'Neill got a small shot with Anaheim, but came in for a game as a replacement for Mikhail Shtalenkov. O'Neill stayed in the Anaheim organization, but was shifted to the IHL and the Long Beach Ice Dogs, where he'd play 45 games and finish with a 26-12-6 record.

For the 1997-98 season, O'Neill signed with the Washington Capitals, but spent that season with the Portland Pirates-- playing in 47 games and compiling with a 16-18-10 record, then finishing with a 2-3 record in six playoff contests.

With no jobs in the 1998-99 season in North America, O'Neill had to sign in Austria with EC Villacher SV, who played in the Swiss league. He would play in 42 games and finished with a 2.46 GAA on the season.

O'Neill would return to North America for the 1999-2000 season, signing a deal with the Los Angeles Kings, but would be placed in the IHL, first with the Michigan K-Wings for four games (1-1-0), then was moved to the Long Beach Ice Dogs, where he would go 7-12-5 in 25 games, and suffer a loss in his only playoff game.

No opportunities in North America, O'Neill once again went overseas, this time with the Sheffield Steelers of the British Hockey League where he played in 30 games, finishing with a 2.39 GAA and aided the Steelers winning the B&H Cup (held at the beginning of the season), the Challenge Cup (held during the season), the League Championship, and Playoff Championship-- the Grand Slam of British Hockey championships.

O'Neill would retire after that season and his whereabouts are unknown after his retirement.

While it seemed he was able to get things going in the IHL, O'Neill's struggled in the AHL, with some fairly bad teams, and didn't get a chance in the NHL past a back-up. Though, he was able to see the world in North America and then overseas-- but just couldn't seem to get as successful in the other leagues as he did in the IHL and overseas.

Absurd Goalie Monday: Marco Baron

There's a lot to say about hype and getting caught into it. We all know that most of these AGMs get caught in their own hype; but this week's AGM was caught into someone else's hype, which may have stalled his own career a bit. Sure, he bounced back for a bit-- but in the end it never was the same. This week, we look at the career of Marco Baron.

Baron started out his career in the QMJHL, playing in 64 games with the Montreal Juniors in 1975-76 and 1976-77 before moving onto the Verdun Eperviers where he'd appear in 128 games in the 1977-78 and 1978-79 season. With Verdun, Baron garnered Second Team All-Star honors in 1978, as well as leading the QMJHL in shutouts, with three, in 1978-79. However, thanks to the lack of record keeping, no records are available for Baron.

After his junior career, Baron took to the pros-- being selected 99th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 1979 Draft. Baron started and spent the majority of the 1979-80 season with the Grand Rapids Owls of the IHL, where he would play in 35 games before getting called up to play for the Binghamton Dusters. With the Dusters, Baron would go 0-5-0 in six games, while getting one game in Boston that season, which was a no-decision. The 1980-81 season was a tough one for Baron, who was bumped as a back-up to Rogie Vachon by US Olympic hero Jim Craig, relegating Baron to the AHL's Springfield Indians, playing in 23 games with a 12-11-0 record. Baron would get a call-up to Boston that season for 10 games, going 3-4-1 in those games and then 0-1 in his only playoff appearance that year. While Baron would start the 1981-82 season with the Erie Blades (1-1-0 in two games), the bulk of the time would be spent with the Bruins and would get a majority of the games, going 22-16-4 record in 44 games.

However, it wouldn't last for Baron, who would spend most of the 1982-83 season with the Baltimore Skipjacks of the AHL, going 8-11-1 in 22 games before being called up to the Bruins for nine games and sporting a 6-3-0 record. The 1983-84 season had Baron staying in the AHL with the Moncton Alpines going 6-7-3 in 16 games before being put on the move.

In January of 1984, Baron was dealt by the Bruins to the Los Angeles Kings for Bob LaForest. With the Kings that season, Baron would go 3-14-4 in 21 games on a very sub-par Kings team.

Baron would have a shaky 1984-85 season, playing in one game with the Sherbrooke Canadiens of the AHL for one game (no decision) before getting signed with the Edmonton Oilers. Baron would play one game with the Oilers (a loss), then would be sent down to the Nova Scotia Oilers. With Nova Scotia, Baron would play 17 games finishing with an 8-7-1 record. Also that season, the Canadiens won the Calder Cup and Oilers won the Stanley Cup; but Baron did not qualify to receive any accolades for that.

After that season, Baron would move overseas to Switzerland to play for Ambri-Piotta for seven games in the 1985-86 season before hanging up the pads for good. After his playing career, Baron stayed in Switzerland and with Ambri-Piotta as an assistant coach with the main squad and head coach for the youth and junior team squads.

While he was almost derailed by an upstart goalie, he was able to rebound nicely; though he snapped right back to the downside. He kept plugging away at it and seemed to be stuck in bad situations where he wasn't able to shine as bright as he did early on in his career. Luckily, he was able to stay into hockey after his playing career and grow the game into a developing hockey nation.

Baltimore's Exhibition A Jumping Point??

It was speculated by the Baltimore Sun and confirmed by Washington Post's DC Sports Bog; the Washington Capitals will play an exhibition game in Baltimore's First Mariner Arena, mostly likely against the Nashville Predators, whose coach-- Barry Trotz-- is a former Baltimore Skipjacks' coach. This is also coming on the heels of the Bog talking about how Baltimore fans are supporting the Caps in Baltimore bars-- with a picture of some of my former teammates there.

I've documented the history of Baltimore hockey and why the city probably won't be a site for NHL relocation if they get a new arena-- but if there is a solid turnout, could this be wishful thinking about a minor league club down the line??

Short answer, no. Long answer, still no; but with a "but."

First and foremost, if this game pans out like the Caps think it will with a Baltimore crowd, then it could set wheels in motion for the Baltimore area to get a new arena, as First Mariner has been there in downtown since 1962. There has been talks about there being a new arena built in the Canton area, but it has since moved to the downtown core, extending from the Convention Center-- but could cost $1BILLION dollars for the 18,500 seat arena. That's quite a lot of butts to fit into an arena for a minor league game, but it'd probably be used mostly for concerts and other events, like wrestling. Even so, an upgraded place could be a nice attraction to some minor league teams having issues in their current area.

Yet, even if there is an interest team-- the Baltimore Blast own the city when it comes to indoor excitement. The indoor soccer team would probably want to command most of the weekend dates, which would hamstring any hockey team wanting to go there due to the fact that weekday games aren't that much of a draw. Since the indoor soccer season goes from November to March, it'd be hard to have hockey and soccer get primo dates. If they are able to work it out together-- it may work, but who knows with everyone wanting the entertainment dollar for themselves. The Blast are one of the reasons why the Baltimore Bandits didn't last too long.

In the end, I don't know if hockey will work in Baltimore for the long-term, but it could be something that should be looked at. If there's a lot of people getting into the Caps from the Baltimore area, why not have a team locally to be closer and cheaper for some families who may not be able to afford trekking down to DC and deal with the NHL prices. Time will tell, but this could be a jumping off point for a hockey future in Baltimore.

(It should be noted that I hope there's some kind of Baltimore Skipjacks tribute, or else it would be unjust to play there. And Maryland goalie Matt Mitchell jokingly said he would give up his pads to a Caps goalie in order to be close to "the show.")

The Epicness of the Maryland Flag in Pad Form

My buddy, Geoff (aka G$) sent me the picture you see above via Twitter and I thought it was the most amazing thing ever. As a Marylander (even though living in Calgary), the flag is a great sense of pride and for the goalie for the Terrapins putting them on his pads?? Just beyond awesome.

So, in doing some research on the University of Maryland Ice Hockey website, I found out that the pads belonged to Matt Mitchell. Thanks to Club President Darren Taillie, I was able to get in touch with Mitchell for a little look at the inspiration of the pads and the season for the Terps.

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Scotty Wazz: Matt, you definitely have some interesting sets of pads there, what made you go with the Maryland flag design??

Matt Mitchell: To put it straight forward, I think Maryland has the best flag I have ever seen for any state or country. I missed all of last season injured, so I had a lot of free time on my hands to think about everything hockey (including gear, of course). I was getting ready to order my likely final set of pads for my college career and I just kind of thought, hey, why not go all out on them. Then I just kind of realized that if you turn our flag sideways it split perfectly on a set of pads, and I was set.

SW: What was the reaction from team when you broke them out??

MM: HAHA, it was interesting. A lot of the guys knew they were coming before I had them and loved the idea. When they got there they looked even better than expected, so I didn't get chirped hardly at all by the guys. I remember the first practice I wore them for one of my teammates, Augie Gardner, showed up late and didn't notice them when he got on the ice. The first time he was coming down to shoot on me in a drill he looked up and stopped, mid-drill, and screamed "OH MY GOD!" It was hysterical.

SW: Since it's one of the best flags in North America because of the design, has it been a distraction to your teammates during practice or to the opponents during the game??

MM: You know, I really didn't think anything of the distraction idea when I planned them out. After our first game when we beat Towson I had a couple of guys come up to me afterwords and tell me how confusing it was looking up and seeing the graphics and trying to see the net, so I guess they work.

SW: Moving on from that, you're in your third year with the Terps and the team only has one loss. What is different from this season than last??

MM: A lot of things. As I said, I wasn't around for games last season so I didn't really know what was going on all that much, but it previous years there was a lot of ego in the locker room. A lot of guys were "me me me" and kept fighting in the locker room, it was a mess. This year we have a really close knit group of guys and a great freshman class. Pat St. Clair came in and ended up being an immediate top-line defenseman, and Sean "Diddy" Combs (yes, we call him Diddy) who we thought would be a fourth-line grinder already is nearly double-digits in points. It's just all really clicking for us right now.

SW: Playing in the ACCHL, how are the rivalries with the other ACC team in comparison to other sports, like basketball and football and such??

MM There are definitely a couple of teams that we don't get along with and love beating in our league, yes. We haven't seen Duke yet, but when we host them in College Park next month we are having a big white out game.

But I think our best rivalries actually fall outside of the league. We have already been really chippy with Towson, and Virginia Tech (who left the ACC this year) is another team we really want to beat. I tried to play the Tech game after being in a big car accident (with a concussion, oops) and probably cost us that game, so that's one I'm really looking forward to getting our hands on in Blacksburg later this season.

SW: Moving forward, do you think you guys can keep up this killer pace??

MM: Definitely. There is no reason for us to lose a league game we don't think. Obviously we haven't seen all of the ACCHL yet, but we feel like we're a really strong team this year. Our goal is to win the ACCHL, do some damage at regionals, and hopefully make a run at Nationals this year, so hopefully we can accomplish all of that.

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Definitely a solid story for Mitchell and really great to see the pride for state and school in all of this. I couldn't think of a better look for a guy playing with the University of Maryland. Best of luck to Mitchell and the rest of the Terps, so if you're in the Maryland area or the ACC region, go to the website and check them out. FEAR THE TURTLE!!!

Thanks to Darren Taillie and Matt Mitchell for this, and again-- go to the Terps site and support them.

Absurd Goalie Monday: Mike Sands

Considering we're past 60 AGMs, we're definitely going to get into the deep tracks of things. We're getting a bit more absurd, especially with guys some people haven't heard from before. This week, we'll start that part of the trend with a guy who seemed to look like he was about to emerge as a solid back-up, but lost it due to one decision he may or may not regret. At least he had some kind of back-up for his hockey career being over. This week, we discuss Mike Sands.

Sands began his career in the Ontario Junior "B" system with the Streetsville Derbys, which could be one of the best names out there. Sands played 20 games with the Derbys in the 1979-80 season, finishing with a 3.26 GAA. Sands would get a call-up to the Junior "A" Dixie Beehives for four games, going 2-1-0 with a 3.55 GAA and a one shutout.

Sands would start his major junior career with the Sudbury Wolves in the OHL in the 1980-81 season. Sands would be the starter for the Wolves, playing in 50 games and going 15-28-2 on a dismal Wolves' team. Even so, the Minnesota North Stars picked Sands in the second round of the 1981 Entry Draft at 31st overall. Sands would continue on with the Wolves for the 1981-82 and they would continue to be a bit of a bad team, going 13-33-1 in his 53 appearances-- though he would have six assists on the season. Also in 1981-82, Sands would go to the Nashville South Stars of the Central League, where he would play in seven games going 3-3-1.

For the 1982-83 season, Sands would again be on the Wolves and again they would be a bit horrific, as he would go 11-27-0 in his 43 games; but it would be able to gain a spot on the 1983 Canadian World Junior Team, getting the starting gig over Mike Vernon in the tournament. The Canadian team would pick up a bronze, while Sands went 2-2-1 for the Canadians. After his junior season was over, Sands would go to the Birmingham South Stars of the Central League and go 0-4-0 in his four games he played there.

For his first full foray into the professional game was in the 1983-84 season when he took to the road with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles of the Central League, playing 20 games alongside of Jim Craig and Wendell Young. Sands would go 7-12-1 in the rotating system. He would have a good enough camp to start the 1984-85 with the North Stars, but would only play two games (losing both) before he was sent down to the AHL's Springfield Indians. Sands would get plenty of time and actually succeed, going 23-17-3 with a 3.24 GAA in the season. He would be called back up for another game for the North Stars, which was another loss. He would play in the playoffs for Springfield where he would lose all three games he would play in. For the 1985-86 season, Sands would get a limited time while playing in Springfield, only getting 27 games in while going 8-15-1 for the year. As the 1986-87 season rolled around, Sands would go on to be a back-up starter Don Beaupre, as former AGM Kari Takko was out of the line-up. Sands would get three games in going 0-2-0 before he was shipped back down to Springfield, where he would play 19 games, going 5-10-1 for his season.

The real issues came for the 1987-88 season with Sands. He was sent down to the AHL again, this time to the Baltimore Skipjacks. Sands would play in four games, losing all four, before he would leave the Skipjacks without the permission of the Skipjacks or the North Stars. He was subsequently suspended by the North Stars and then released in March of 1988 by the North Stars. Sands would be picked up by the Kalamazoo Wings of the IHL, playing three games and going 0-2-1 in those appearances.

Without a professional job in his sight, Sands would play for the Canadian National Team in the 1988-89 season. He would split time between the other goalies, Warren Skorodenski and Randy Hansch, and get in 21 games-- where he would go 6-13-1 in his games. After that year, Sands would hang up the pads and move onto other ventures at the age of 26.

After his playing career, Sands would go into the scouting realm. He had worked with the NHL Central Scouting Bureau and would then move onto the Calgary Flames staff, first as an amateur scout; then to the Director of Amateur Scouting. However, during the wholesale changes before the 2010-11 season, Sands would get sacked by the Flames during the summer.

Even though he didn't have the best records, he always seemed to get some good things fallen into his lap at times. He did have a bad falling out with the North Stars' at the end of his pro tenure, which probably shortchanged the career he could have had. Albeit, he did get held back in the minors for the longest time, he didn't have the chances to really show his worth. His confidence could have broken become of it, which probably let to him leaving the Skipjacks and the professional ranks in the end.

Baltimore Hockey History: The Last Baltimore Hockey Team....For Now

Two years after the Skipjacks left for Portland, Maine; Bob Teck and Alan Gertner thought it would be time to bring some kind of hockey back to the area, because they had thought it was for the best. These two pump millions of dollars to get the Bandits off the ground. They also had the backing of the Disney Corporation, who designed the raccoon logo and jerseys that were worn on-ice (As an aside, anyone with a lead on where to get one of these jerseys-- let me know). With that kind of clout and the mentality that they would be able to provide a good atmosphere for the fans, there was a positive vibe for the team to come through the struggles and actually make Baltimore more than a hockey footnote.

The ideology was superb to start. Teck said that with over 30 area high schools having teams and kids playing in the streets, it was the right time in order to expand the landscape of popularity. The ownership team learned, also, from the mistakes of the past. An article done by current NFL Network contributer Jason LaCanfora about the new team showed what the Bandits team had learned from what the Skipjacks could not.

The Baltimore Bandits will market extensively and promote the sport. The Skipjacks did little in those areas to boost the team. Bob Leffler, whose ad agency handled the Skipjacks, now works for the Bandits. He said the new ownership is consumed with making hockey work.

"Gertec is putting together a massive marketing campaign," Leffler said. "They are dedicated to spending $1 million to advertising. The last time we had that kind of financial support was with the Blast [of the Major Indoor Soccer League] in the mid-'80s. They were drawing 11,000 fans a game then."

Bandits merchandise has been in stores since mid-July, the team already has begun advertising on Orioles radio broadcasts and it is negotiating with three local radio stations for broadcast rights. It will focus its campaign on television and billboard advertising in the coming months.

You could see that these guys were waiting for the money to start rolling in for this team. You have to spend money to make money, right?? Right??

In any case, there was a big buzz around the new team. The purple, silver, and black was ready to hit the ice and maybe erase the entire loss of the Skipjacks, even though the Jacks were beloved for the past decade. The Bandits had a backing from a major corporation and seemed to be primed to be a big success.

The first season on ice, there were ups and downs, but the fans seemed to turn out at the start. I, myself, along with Papa Stan Wazz were partial season ticket holders because it was a little bit closer than traveling to Landover to watch the Capitals play. The team had their finesse guys, but also the bruisers. The likes of Jeremy Stevenson and Peter Leboutillier had over 200 PIMs on the season, while Dwayne Norris, Mike Maneluk, Slava Butsayev, and Steven King were lighting up the score sheet. The likes of Darren Van Impe and J-F Jomphe were chartering between the AHL and NHL, as Denny Lambert became a folk hero as he moved down to Baltimore after his Anaheim dreams didn't pan out. Another folk hero was Mike O'Neill, who set an AHL record for playing 74 games in a season in the 1995-96 season.

While the Bandits finished with a 33-36-9 record and third in the Southern Division. They made the playoffs, although everyone but two teams made the playoffs. They were able to upset the Hershey Bears 3-games-to-2 in the first round and lost in seven games to the other underdog Syracuse Crunch, who finished last in their division. The on-ice product seemed to be there, but it's off-ice where things started to go horribly wrong.

Three-quarters through the season, the ownership trust of Teck and Gertner was in trouble. They had unpaid debt to a number of groups. The team owed their parent team, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, $500,000, as well; they owed the AHL $100,000 of the $1 million franchise fee. The duo of Teck and Gertner decided to hand over the team, not even out of their first year, to Mike Caggiano; a Northern Virginia businessman, who went to school in Baltimore and owned the Potomac Cannons baseball team to some success. Teck and Gertner made more bad decisions than good, but when it comes to an expansion team-- you have to make good decisions through and through; especially in an uneasy market. Caggiano gave his confidence that the team would stay in the city and would be on even ground after management and financial re-structuring.

The second season had as much turmoil on the ice as they were off the ice. On the ice, there was a coaching change as Walt Kyle was replaced with Moe Mantha as Kyle went to Anaheim. There were a lot of changes with the likes of O'Neill, Norris, Butsayev, and the other notable gone to other pastures. Craig Reichert, Mike LeClerc, and David Sacco held up the offense and they had five guys with over 20 goals on the season, including Bob Wren, Sean Pronger, and Igor Nikulin added with Reichert and LeClerc. The goaltending of Mike Bales and Tom Askey couldn't fulfill the workload that O'Neill had left, which led to struggles from the team. Even with all of that, the Bandits finished up with a 30-37-10 record, but lost in the first round as the Philadelphia Phantoms dominated the Bandits in a three-game sweep.

Things were much worse off the ice, as debt continued to pile-up. After the 1995-96 season, the Bandits were $1.6 million in debt, but it rose to $3.7 million after the 1996-97 season, including owing the AHL more than $500,000 in franchise costs, their billboard people over $30,000, the audio/visual team over $3,000, and their jersey people $5,000 for lettering the jerseys. Caggiano realized he was over his head and looked to sell the team. Some of the shareholders tried to stop any sale because they though insider debt would be recouped, but that didn't seem to be the case. The team was eventually sold to the owners of the Cincinnati Gardens and the team became the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. In the state-of-the-franchise report, Caggiano said that they did all they could in order to save the franchise.

Even more over, the Bandits were having issues with the schedule. They often were bumped by the owners of the building to give preference to the Baltimore Spirit indoor soccer team over any Bandits games that could take place. That brought the attendance and general interest down because of it. Caggiano went against the city council many times trying to lobby for a new arena for the team, as the Baltimore Arena lacked what a professional team needed. Caggiano also went as far as going to the AHL and trying to relocate the Bandits' playoff games to Hershey, Pennsylvania because of the Spirit locking up dates in the Baltimore Arena. It did not happen, but it was an interesting proposition. Of course, that left a bad taste in the mouth of the city council, thus support dwindled; which helped along the demise.

It only took two seasons for this team to go into the crapper and really was one of the first of the rotating teams the AHL had gone through. The Bandits were one of the many teams to not last long in their area and relocate-- along with the Kentucky Thoroughblades, Carolina Monarchs, PEI Senators, and Cornwall Aces to name a few. While there is still shuffling today, it's not as wide-spread it seems.

The ownership to start had a lot of promise for the team. They did all they could to make hockey a mainstay in the Baltimore landscape, but there could have been a lot of sidetracking with he Ravens coming into the NFL and the poorly processed marketing campaigns. While the sport on the grassroots level has become popular through time, the actual professional game has never and may never take off as it should or could in the Baltimore area. Especially with the popularity of the Capitals, the time could never be better for hockey in the area. Yet, with the lack of a new arena and support from outside interests-- the time-frame will close shut before anything tangible and realistically comes to be.

Absurd Goalie Monday: Jon Casey

With the NHL rolling out their new "History Will Be Made" playoff advertisements, it caught my eye of a nominee that I've yet to do. It's one guy who was in two of these advertisements, but always at the butt-end of them, looking like a fool....with his pants on the ground. In one, he's being undressed by the Magnificent One; where in the second, he's getting schooled by a 40-foot slapper by Stevie Y. That's right, this week's AGM is the one and only-- Jon Casey.

Casey started out his career by being accepted into the University of North Dakota starting in the 1980-81 season. He saw limited time in his freshman year, playing six games and only sporting a record of 3-1-0. In his sophomore year, Casey would split time evenly with Darren Jensen and Pierre Lamoureux, though Casey would get a few more games in. Casey would play in 18 games and go 15-3-0. His strong play that season got him a spot on the USA World Junior team, but in his five games he had a 1-2-0 record, not to what the USA was thinking. Casey's junior season in 1982-83 was a less than stellar one, as he would split time again, but went 9-6-2 in his 17 games. Undrafted, Casey had a lot to prove in his senior season in the 1983-84 season, where he would get he bulk of the time, playing 37 games and going 25-10-2 for the season. Casey was able to get NCAA First Team All-American for that season.

It also caught the eye of the Minnesota North Stars, who signed Casey on April 1st of 1984. Casey would play two games with the North Stars, going 1-0-0, before the season ended. The 1984-85 season saw Casey start to hone his professional game, for which the North Stars sent him to the AHL's Baltimore Skipjacks. Casey was fantastic with the Jacks, as he would go 30-11-4 with four shutouts and a 2.63 GAA. Casey won the Hap Holmes Award for lowest GAA and the Baz Bastien Award for best goaltender. Casey got the Jacks to the finals of the playoffs, but they fell short to the Sherbrooke Canadiens.

Casey would start the 1985-86 season with the Springfield Indians of the AHL, playing nine games with a 4-3-1 record before being called up by the North Stars for the duration of that season to back-up Don Beaupre. Casey got 26 games in and went an even 11-11-1 for the year. However, the 1986-87 season saw Casey back in the minors with Springfield in the AHL, 3-8-2 in 13 games, and then sent to the IHL's Indianapolis Checkers, where in 31 games he went 14-15-0. The 1987-88 season saw Casey spend the balk of the time in the IHL with the Kalamazoo Wings, where his game got back on track with a 24-13-5 record, while getting some call-ups to Minnesota for 14 games on a less than stellar team going 1-7-4.

Luck shined on Casey for the 1988-89 season, as current starter Beaupre was traded to the Washington Capitals. Casey would get the starting role because of it and he did what he could for the team he had in front of him. Casey's first year starting would go 18-17-12 in his 55 games. It would start Casey's stalwart job as the North Stars' goalie. The 1989-90 season saw better fortune for the team and Casey, as he would go 31-22-4 in his 61 appearances. It only set up for his 1990-91 season, where he would go a so-so 21-20-11 on the season, but he got on a hot streak at the right time, helping the North Stars run wild through the playoffs. Casey went 14-7 in the playoffs, but they met their match in the Stanley Cup finals, as the Pittsburgh Penguins took them out in six games. It would get rough for Casey in the 1991-92 season, as the curse of losing the Cup took its toll, going 19-23-5 for the North Stars, while having a stint with Kalamazoo, going 2-1-1 in his retooling games. The 1992-93 season was a bit of a bounce back for Casey, as he would get better with a better team in front of him and a 26-26-5 record with a 3.33 GAA. It would be the team's last year in Minnesota, as they moved to Dallas after the year...and it would be the last year for Casey with the franchise.

During the off-season, Casey was traded to the Boston Bruins for Andy Moog, which was the future considerations part of an earlier deal between the two teams, where Gord Murphy went to Minnesota. Casey would be thrown into the starting role for the Bruins, as he would go 30-15-9 in his 57 games and would get the Bruins into the playoffs, but they were stopped in the second round with Casey going 5-6 for those games. His tenure in Beantown was short-lived.

Casey would sign in the off-season with the St. Louis Blues. Casey back-up Curtis Joseph in the shortened 1994-95 season, going 7-5-4 with a 2.75 GAA for the season. It was a slight change for Casey in the 1995-96 season, as Grant Fuhr came to St. Louis and Casey lost the back-up job to Bruce Racine, which sent Casey to the Peoria Rivermen of the IHL. He made the most of his demotion, going 21-19-2 in his 43 games, which got him a call-up late in the year and got him nine games with St. Louis, going 2-3-0. The playoffs were Casey's time, as he got the call in place of Grant Fuhr, who had to have surgery on his knee after the first game. Casey stood strong, but couldn't help the Blues and they lost in Game Seven to the Red Wings, which is where the second "History Will Be Made" commercial came from. Casey went 6-6 in those playoffs. The first half of the 1996-97 season would see Casey backing up Fuhr, but thanks to Fuhr being a workhorse, Casey only saw limited time. In St. Louis, Casey went 3-8-0 in his 15 games and went 2-1-1 in his four conditioning games with the Worcester Ice Cats of the AHL.

Casey would not be retained by the Blues of the 1997-98 season, and he went to the IHL with the Kansas City Blades. Casey would play in 24 games going 9-13-4 with the turnstile goaltending in the IHL, which included former AGMs Pokey Reddick and Peter Skudra. Casey would retire midway through the season. Since then, Casey has gone AWOL.

While he was made famous for two things that were detrimental to his career, it stills shows he'll always be in the spotlight. While he didn't have the most stellar career, he shows that he could be thrown into a situation and still thrive somewhat. At least he was able to finish above .500 in both regular season and post-season records, so that has to count for something.

Baltimore Hockey History: The Longevity of the Clippers

While I mentioned in a previous post that the Winnipeg Jets moniker shouldn't be revived in the NHL again, I never said that them bringing it back in another league is a bad thing. Such is the case with our latest BHH installment of the Baltimore Clippers. The Clippers name was synonymous with the Baltimore hockey scene for 21 seasons, including two half-seasons in 1949-50 and 1974-75, and the team name was through three leagues in those 21 seasons. The name itself was something unique to Baltimore, as it was also the name give to sailing ships; most of which used Baltimore as a port.

As a team, the Clippers first came to be in the 1946-47 season in the Eastern Hockey League and did the expected and finished last (18-30-8) in the four-team league in their inaugural season. They seemed to make it at least competitive, as they had four 20-goal scorers in Bill Hannon (41 goals), Ed Vigneau (29), Wendell "Frank" MacIntosh (24), and Jack Stoddard (22). Hannon, Vigneau, and MacIntosh were also top-1o in points, as Pete Taillefer was second in the league in PIMs with 116. It was quite the turnaround for the Clippers in the 1947-48 season, with the Clippers winning the regular season title with a 31-16-1 record. That Clippers team was stacked with four 30-goal scorers in Charlie Knox (52), James Muldoon (36), Billy Purcell (36), and George Hayes (33). They also rolled big in the points with seven of the top-10 being Clippers: Knox, Dave Maguire, Muldoon, Hayes, Purcell, Nestor "Gerry" Lubeck, and Jack "Danny" Nixon. On top of all of that, Nixon and Kenneth Schwartz were the top two for the Clippers and EHL in PIMs with a combined 286 PIMs (182 and 104 respectively). However, success was fleeting, even back in those days. The EHL closed up shop for the 1948-49 season, because of lack of teams. When it returned in the 1949-50 season, the league had eight teams; including the Clippers. The Clippers wouldn't last long in the EHL, playing only 12 games (4-8-0) before folding up mid-season due to financial concerns on the team.

While the team would lay dormant, they would make a return to the league in the 1954-55 season in almost triumph fashion. While the league had only five teams, the competition was tight. The Clippers would finish third in the regular season (22-23-2), but where able to have the league's leading scorer, Herve Lalonde (22g, 50a). They made the playoffs and beat the Clinton Comets three-games to one in the first round, but got trounced by the Washington Lions in the Finals, getting swept in four games and outscored 21-8. Yet, more fleeting fame with the Clippers in the 1955-56 season. Not only did they fall from grace with mediocrity (23-40-1), but to add insult to injury, the team had to move to Charlotte, North Carolina for it's last five games because the Clippers home rink burnt to the ground. What's worse is that the next season, the Charlotte Clippers, comprised of the old Baltimore Clippers, won the EHL championship. No rink and a championship team in another city....awesome for Baltimore hockey fans for sure.

Luckily, the city found it in their heart to build a new "Civic Center" for the many events they wanted to draw for the downtown core and build up the Baltimore Civic Center. It opened in 1962, which incidentally coincided with the return of the Baltimore Clippers name to the AHL in the 1962-63 season. It was a solid reintroduction, as the Clippers were led offensively by Dave Creighton (24g, 48a) and were able to make the playoffs with a 35-30-7 record, but lost in the first round of the playoffs. It was another so-so year for the 1963-64 season, as the Clippers wound up out of the playoffs with a 32-37-3 record. The 1964-65 season was a solid one as the Clippers had the third-most goals in the league for the season with four players over 25 goals and Gord Labossiere 9th in league scoring (38g, 41a). However, it wasn't enough as they were dropped in the first round once again.

While the 1965-66 season was a lean one (27-43-2), the 1966-67 season started a string of consistency for the Clippers, as they made the playoffs five of the next six seasons. What was even more impressive with the string is that the Clippers went through five coaches in that time span-- Terry Reardon, Aldo Guidolin (who was the second Clippers AHL coach), Rudy Migay, and Jim Morrison. The Clippers would eventually settle on a co-coach system, which helped lead them to the Calder Cup finals in the 1971-72 season with Reardon and Morrison behind the bench. That Finals, the Clippers went down in six games to the dominate Nova Scotia Voyageurs, who outscored the Clippers 21-8. History in a final repeating itself. Much like history, the Clippers AHL story was almost the same of its EHL predecessor. While the Clippers kept the co-coach gimmick going with Reardon and Morrison for two more years and Kent Douglas the next two, the Clippers would miss out on the playoffs three out of the four years.

However, the 1974-75 season was something of an interesting situation. While the Clippers were only 14-22-10 in their 46 games; they folded up mid-season. The reason for it is that the owners of the WHA's Michigan Stags tapped Baltimore as their new place of business and would rename the team the Blades. The Blades only played 17 games in the Baltimore Arena before finally folding up shop for good. The Clippers would come back for one more AHL season in the 1975-76 season before closing that chapter of their history.

The 1976-77 season saw the Clippers name back, this time in the Southern Hockey League. It was a gongshow, through and through as the league folded mid-season with the Clippers going 21-24-2 in their 47 games. The Clippers name would lay dormant again until the 1979-80 season when they came back in the new Eastern Hockey League with soon-to-be legendary Baltimore coach Gene Ubriaco behind the bench for the Clippers. The first year, the Clippers had a solid team with a 41-25-4 record, finishing third in the league in the regular season. That year, they had Warren Young, who was tied for first in goals (53) and outright second in points (106). Young had 23 more points than anyone on the team. The 1980-81 season was another downfall for the Clippers as they dropped to 28-36-7 and only had a small time in the playoffs. After that season, the EHL and Clippers would fold up for the last time.

When it comes to hockey in Baltimore, this generation will most notably know the Skipjacks because it's the era they grew up with. However, for almost three decades; the Clippers name was Baltimore hockey and truly made Baltimore a viable location for teams like the Jacks, who moved into the Clippers location in the 1981-82 season. If not for the Clippers, many probably wouldn't have hockey in Baltimore to get into and memories as such. Lest we forget this team paving the way for Baltimore hockey in the modern day.

Baltimore Hockey History: A Tie That Binds A Rivalry

With the rumors that the Penguins and Capitals will be the headlining act for the 2011 Winter Classic, it sparks one of the most intense rivalries to date in the NHL. This match-up is just pure, unadulterated hate.....on ICE!! Even in their dark days when both teams stunk, the rivalry was always one people got up for. While, in terms of success; it's been one-sided, there's always something about this game (outside of the superstars on both teams) that people enjoy about it.

While this rivalry ties the two teams together, something that's unrelated to the rivalry that binds these teams is the use of the Baltimore Skipjacks as their minor league affiliate. Of course, at this point-- the rivalry of the parent clubs hadn't escalated to the level it is now, but it is something that I thought was quite a fun fact.

As I go out sequence with this whole thing, the Skipjacks came to be after the Baltimore Clippers namesake was put to rest after the 1980-81 season in the Eastern League and previous years in the American League and the Southern League. The Jacks started in the Atlantic Coast League in the 1981-82 season, the inaugural season for the league. It was quite the gongshow, as all the teams had different numbers of games played. That year, the Jacks played 48 games, second most in the league, and went 22-23-3, finishing in third.

Luckily for the namesake of the organization, the Jacks name got moved to the AHL when the Erie Blades moved down to Charm City. They had primary affiliation with the Pittsburgh Penguins and shared some with the Boston Bruins. The first year for the Jacks in the AHL, which was the 1982-83 season, was one full of fire-power with two players, Mike Gillis (113) and Mitch Lamoureux (107), over 100 points for the year and two others, Rod Schutt (87) and Greg Tebbutt (84), with more than 80 points. The downfall had to be the goaltending, as Roberto Romero's 4.05 GAA was the lowest of the team's four goalies used. The team missed the playoffs in their first season in the AHL.

While that first year was manned by Lou Angotti and the 35-36-9 record wasn't anything too shabby; the Jacks made a coaching change to Gene Ubriaco, who was very close to the Baltimore hockey scene, having played for the Baltimore Clippers in 1967-68 and 1979-80, while coaching in that 1979-80 season and the 1980-81 season for the Clippers. So, Ubriaco took over the helm of the Jacks for the 1983-84 season; who were in their first year as a Penguins only affiliate and Ubriaco was able to improve the team immediately. While the firepower wasn't there in the '83-'84 season as it was in the previous year, the consistency of the team was much better. The goaltending improved with Romero splitting games with Jim Ralph and Vincent Tremblay, which gave the Jacks a lot of variety in net and they were actually able to keep the puck out with none of them having above a 4.00 GAA. Of course, with a change in style, the defensive side made the offensive side struggle, as only one player (Paul Gardner) had over 80 points in the year. The Jacks were playoff bound with their 46-24-10 record, which lead the league with their 102 points; yet they were only able to get to the second round of the playoffs when they were upset by the Rochester Americans. Ubriaco won the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award for AHL Coach of the Year.

With that performance, the expectations were high for the Jacks and they didn't disappoint in the 1984-85 season. While they weren't able to match their 1o2 point campaign, they finished second on the Southern Division with a 45-27-8 record. The Jacks were without their previous top scorer, as Paul Gardner was moved to the Binghamton Whalers, where he took the scoring crown. However, the Skipjacks did counter and got their goaltending under control, as Jon Casey was sent to Baltimore by the Minnesota North Stars and took control of the Jacks goaltending over Pens property Michel Dion and Romero. Luckily for the Jacks that Casey was strong, as the offense was very inept again with Tom Roulston leading the team with 70 points. Also notable, Steve Carlson, from the famed Hanson Brothers, had 47 points for the Jacks. Back to Casey-- in his 46 games, he put up a 30-11-4 record with a 2.63 GAA and .908 save percentage. Those numbers were enough for Casey to Hap Holmes Award for Lowest GAA in the AHL and the Baz Bastien Award for Best Goalie in the league. Baltimore also had a then record 16-game winning streak (since broken). The Jacks were able to ride the hot goalie in Casey through the playoffs; getting revenge for their lose against the Americans beating them in five games, while they moved and swept the top-seed Binghamton Whalers in a sweep; before the Jacks ran into another hot goalie by the name of Patrick Roy and his Sherbrooke Canadiens-- as the Canadiens beat the Jacks in the Calder Cup finals in five games.

In the Pens era of the Skipjacks, that would be the highest they would get. The next two years with affiliation were very subpar, even with Ubriaco behind the bench. The scoring was still down, as the 1985-86 season saw Roulston lead the team with 87 points, 23 more than the next guy on the list, while Alain Lemieux lead the 1986-87 team with 97 points-- which was 44 more than the next guy on the list. Both those seasons, the teams were under .500 for their record, though they improved in the '86-'87 season (35-37-8) to the '85-'86 season (28-44-8).

In the 1987-88, the Penguins moved their affiliation from Baltimore and moved it to Muskegon in the IHL. The Skipjacks still stuck around as an independent team for that season with Ubriaco behind the bench. The independent label was definitely there, as the Jacks had a 13-58-9 record with their atrocious goaltending coming back and letting up a league high 434 goals that year, which is still an AHL record to this day. The Jacks also hold the record from that year for longest losing streak at 18 games.

The Washington Capitals saw the chance with an affiliate right up the road from them and acquired the affiliation with the Jacks and placed their players up there. The first year of the affiliation was rough in the 1988-89 season and Terry Murray behind the bench, but it was a vast improvement from their independent year, going 30-46-4, missing the playoffs again. The scoring was back, as Mike Richard lead the team and was fourth in the league with 107 points and got help from Scott McCrory (87 points) and Mike Millar (82).

The 1989-90 had a lot of makings of the Jacks teams previous, with the goaltending getting better and the goal scoring going down. Also, the coaching changed for the Jacks when Terry Murray got called up to the NHL with the Caps and was replaced by Doug MacLean. Richard lead the offense again, but with a 24 point decline (83 points), but the play of Jim Hrivnak (24-19-2; 3.06 GAA) was able to get the Jacks in the playoffs again, but after defeating Adirondack in the first round, the Jacks fell to the dreaded Americans in the second round. MacLean departed for the 1990-91 season, putting Rob Laird in charge of the team and the team did get a little better, though the scoring was spread around with Alfie Turcotte, Steve Maltais, and Tim Taylor being the top-three with 85 points, 79 points, and 67 points, respectively. Hrivnak (20-16-6) was solid again with youngster Olaf Kolzig starting to ply his craft in Baltimore. But it wasn't enough, as the Jacks lost out in the Division Semi-finals to the Binghamton Rangers in six games.

Then started the dark times for the Skipjacks, as their declining attendance started to hurt the wallet of owner Tom Ebright. With the teams struggles on the ice, as well, it didn't help matters. Though the 1991-92 edition had some stellar players like Simon Wheeldon and John Purves leading the offense, the goaltending was the weak point. Hrivnak went up to the big club, which left youngsters Olaf Kolzig and Byron Dafoe get the nods for the Jacks. The Jacks ended up 28-42-10, which made them missed the playoffs.

The attendance and playing woes hit the Jacks again for the 1992-93 season. Ebright said that he was looking to move the team to Portland, Maine if he couldn't get the support from the City Council to help the team out. However, Ebright mentioned bringing an ECHL team to Baltimore to replace the team if he could get the fan support from the Jacks fateful. Even with the pledge from Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles, it wasn't enough to save the Skipjacks; even though Ebright seemed to disregard a council bill that could have helped the team. Ebright was going to move the team from Baltimore to Portland, Maine. Whether or not it affected the team on the ice or not, their 28-40-12 record under new coach Barry Trotz wasn't a light of hope; especially with Dafoe not being the clutch starter as they had hoped (16-20-7). They made the playoffs and pushed the regular season champions Binghamton Rangers to Game Seven before getting ousted.

In a sad kick in the ass, the 1993-94 season saw the Baltimore Skipjacks move to become the Portland Pirates....and the Pirates won the Calder Cup as AHL champions.

Sure, this was a little less about the Penguins/Capitals rivalry like I started-- it's just one of the things that binds those two teams together. Plus, it allows me to bring up a team that most modern Baltimore hockey fans can relate to. I know my grandmother was a big Skipjacks supporter and went to games. I never went to the Jacks games myself, but plenty of my friend (like FOHS's own Jonny P) had their first hockey experience with the Skipjacks at the Baltimore Arena.

Baltimore Hockey History: The First Team

While the city of Baltimore is rich in hockey history when it came to the end of the 19th century, there was a long gap between the next team that would bust onto the scene after the Johns Hopkins University team came around, a team that disbanded after the 1897-98 season due to transportation issues, arguments with rink management, and lack of support from the student body.

And while there was a lot of amateur and club action, there wasn't much going on for the longest time. However, the first known team in the Baltimore area was the team in the Tri-State Hockey League under the name of the Baltimore Orioles. Of course, the name of the team has been connected to the city forever, with the actual oriole bird having the "Baltimore" mantra because its wings resembled Lord Baltimore's coat-of-arms.

That history lesson aside, the Orioles started as an amateur team in the four-team TSHL for the 1932-33 season and broke out big. In the 18 league games, the Orioles finished second to the power-house Atlantic City Sea Gulls (who had 100 goals for in 18 games) with a 12-5-1 record in the four-team league. They were led by the top-scorer of Eddie Mahoney with his nine goals and 12 points in those 18 games. The amateur game was good for that one season, but they decided to move the name onto something bigger and better.

When the 1933-34 season came along, the Orioles name got transferred to the newly established Eastern Hockey League. The Orioles were one of the chartered members and they got off to another fantastic start in league play, finishing second again to the dreaded Sea Gulls. The Orioles were led by league leading goal and point scorer Vince Papike (35 goals, 45 points) and had assist king Vern Buckles (21 assist) after their 24 games in league play. It started to go downhill after that in the 1934-35 season with a 4-13-4 record, as the other teams were able to stop Papike-- only getting 13 points in 20 games.

It was another rebuilding year with coach Billy Boyd being replaced by Gord Fraser for the 1935-36 season, however Papike left to go to Atlantic City, but it allowed Bobby Lee to step up and put up 19 goals and 39 points for the last place Orioles who went 9-29-2; even though they let up 174 goals in those games. Lee's tenure was short-lived, as he went over to England to play, which allowed Buckles to step up for the O's in the 1936-37 season. However, the Orioles were still in last place, but better with a 16-24-8 record with Buckles having 44 points in 43 games.

The tide turned for the team in the 1937-38 season with the pick-up of Clarence Steele and Ab DeMarco, who were both top-10 in goals, assists, and points in the EHL for that year. Even though they finished 21-29-8, they weren't in last and showed signs of getting to the brink. It finally happened with a breakthrough, this time under coach Bill Hines in the 1938-39 season, with help of the offensive prowess of Norm Calladine, who was second in goals and points, but first in assists in the EHL (33g, 41a, 74 points) and helped the Orioles get to second in the EHL going 26-22-5.

The 1939-40 season was the big year for the Orioles as they ran roughshod over the EHL, ending up in first with the one-two punch of Calladine (53g, 41a, 94pts) and Fred Hunt (31g, 37a, 68pts) rounding up with a 38-21-2 record, taking home the EHL title for the year. While the 1940-41 season brought another good season, the Washington Rovers were too good for the Orioles, outdueling the O's and putting them in second place with a 36-23-6 record, which was the last year for Coach Hines behind the bench. It was also the first year that there were no Orioles in the top-10 in points as John Webster only had 61 points in 65 games.

Elmer Piper took over the 1941-42 edition of the Orioles to mixed results, as the team fell from second to fifth, as an influx of new teams came in and had the luck of better players heading to them. Even though the Orioles has three in the top-10 in points (Andy Chakowski, 89; Ab McDougall, 77; Ducky Skinner, 76) and four in the top-10 of assists (Chakowski, 45; Bud Foley 45; Skinner, 43; McDougall, 43) it still wasn't enough to power the O's through the EHL.

Sadly, it was the last year for Orioles as they disbanded after the 1941-42 season. They finished with a combined record of 194-195-41 in their 430 games. While someone like Calladine went onto play in the NHL with the Boston Bruins, his start was rooted in Baltimore with the Orioles. And while the Orioles went onto become a baseball team, many forget of the past history and how the name was used in other facets of sports.

Baltimore Hockey History: We've Got You Covered

In the last installment, I did mention the fact of the lack of coverage for the first game; giving it a paragraph at most in terms of describing the game. Even when it came to coverage the first game at the North Avenue Rink, there was little description of the the game between Johns Hopkins University and Baltimore Athletic Club. Luckily, there was at least one of the early games documented in Baltimore's hockey infancy that actually gave a solid description of the early game.

This took place on January 31st, 1896; one day before the first college hockey game between JHU and Yale University. Yale decided to take on a warm-up game when they got into Baltimore against the Baltimore Athletic Club. This column was in the February 1st edition of The Baltimore Sun on page 7 in the "World of Sport" category of the paper. Whoever did this must have been the inspiration for Dickie Dunn in "Slap Shot" because they captured the spirit of the thing in this column.

Under the headline, the quick-pull of the score and feeling of the game between Yale and BAC was more description about the game than the past features they did on it.

The Final Score 3 to 2-- The Home Boys a Little Upset by the Dash and Aggressiveness of the Blue-Stockinged Visitors, Who Start the Puck Off With a Rush Each Time.

From that point on, it's setting the tone of the game and really showing they were actually going to paint the picture for the people who weren't there. The tone set is something that will draw the reader into the whole thing.

Yale's blue-stockinged hockey players lowered their head in defeat before the Baltimore Athletic Club team. The games was played at the North Avenue Arena before a large and enthusiastic crowd, whose sympathies were beyond doubt with the home team. A small coterie of the friends of Smith, the Yale goalkeeper, who is a Baltimore boy, applauded his team, but their "rooting" availed not as the final score was 3 to 2 in favor of the BAC team.

To me, this was a great start to a column. It set the scene of the game, showed a small caveat of Yale supporter, if only because they had local boy in the line-up, plus it draws a reader into what's going to happen next. It gets you within the game from a spectators standpoint. As we move onto the game, the writer takes you inside to the travels of the Yale team and their captain as well.

The contest was swift and sharp throughout and was so rapid that time was called twice in the second half to let the Yale players regain their wind. The rest were especially for the benefit of Chace, who was not in good health, although all of the Yale players, who were tired with a day's journey on the railroad, benefited from the recesses. Malcolm Chace is the tennis player who is noted as the intercollegiate champion.

You get a brief look into the Yale's captain background, as well as how the Yalies felt after traveling down from Connecticut. The first half description was pretty solid textbook about how the game went, as well as the feel from the crowd. More game-within-the-game feel to it.

Yale played an aggressive game, taking the puck into the BAC territory from the shoot-off. Chace scored the first goal in two minutes from the time play began, going through the line of interference with a good exhibition of dodging.

The puck see-sawed between the two goals with neither side gaining much advantage until Yale's players rushed the puck close to the BAC goal. In a nervous effort to defend the goal, Jenkins, of Baltimore, accidentally pushed the puck through the post, the fluke counting the second goal for Yale.

BAC rooters were afraid this nervousness on the part of the home team would lose them the game. Corning made some unfortunate fumbles and Bisnau ran over the puck in his anxiety to gain its possession for his team. The players rallied, however, carried it into Yale territory and C. Harrison scored the first goal for BAC after a good run. The first half ended with Chace in possession of the puck and headed for the BAC goal.

With that, you get all the highlights of the first half, with a solid showing of each goals. They focus on Chace, the guy they spoke upon in the start, for Yale and give a great recollection and feel about the fans in the arena when it came to watching the game. Even the first paragraph was more than what was put into print about the game rather than the prior entries I've shot up here. Plus, it shows how much the BAC team was a little slippery in their play against a higher caliber team, like Yale seemed to be.

We move to the second half now, with the scene set for drama, as we have BAC being nervous and Yale looking like they're in complete control of the game thus far.

Yale started the second half with another rush into BAC territory, but lost the puck after a few minutes of sharp playing. T. Harrison made a run two-thirds the length of the rink, skillfully dodging and evading the interference directed at him and scored the second goal for BAC and tying the score.

Again Yale rushed the puck into BAC territory, but Jenkins stopped it, as it would have passed between his feet for a goal, and saved his team. Parmly took the puck from the scrimmage about the goal post, ran the length of the rink and passed it skillfully to Bisnau, who shot the winning goal. The game ended with T. Harrison making another long run for the Yale goal just as the whistle sounded.

While it wasn't as much as the first half, it gave away the description of the BAC comeback. Though it's the final part which showed how much complaining was starting from the early on. Maybe it's because they are Ivy Leaguers and not used to the old-school Baltimore ways, but it seemed amusing to me. Yet, they were able to give it as good as they got it.

Yale protested several times against the stick checking of the BAC team, but Referee Shearer was unable to rule against this playing, as it was so quickly done as to seem accidental. A number of Yale players measured their length on the ice or were twisted around by having a hockey stick accidentally thrust between their feet. They were not above retaliating by letting a stick slip from their hands in front of a flying BAC player.

Now, that's how you do it. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. The Yalies were ready to defend themselves if they couldn't get it from the refs. Kind of like how it's done today-- almost like policing themselves in as much of a way they could.

There was actually a solid amount of coverage to the hockey games, but it didn't seem to happen often. We saw that the games mostly took a back-seat to the other skating news in the area and the opening of the first indoor rink in the US, but there are times where the game took center stage and got the appropriate coverage it deserved.