Is it just a coincidence
that 3 of the top 4 Handicappers on
the NHL leaderboard are Canadian? Not
really. We grow up on this game. Hockey
Night in Canada and all that good stuff...
we live and die by hockey up in the
great white north. SO no not at all.
The other 2 cappers in the top 5 who
are not Canadian both come from the
handicappers Mecca Las Vegas. What they
are doing handicapping Hockey is anybodys
guess but they are producing good results
and in the end that is all that matters.
Now on to the fun and games!
Now there is all sorts of references
to field hockey being one of the oldest
known sports predating the Original
Greek Olympics by as much as 1200 years.
Ya whatever I am talking about Ice Hockey.
It too was believed to be a mish mash
of field hockey and lacrosse. every
frozen blooded Canadian knows the facts
here man... It is totally a Canadian
game eh!
I
did a google search and at one site
athleticscolarships.net I found the
following information.
Until the mid-1980s
it was usually accepted that ice hockey
was derived from English field hockey
and Indian lacrosse and was spread
throughout Canada by British soldiers
in the mid-1800s. Research then turned
up a mention of a hockey-like game
played in the early 1800s in Nova
Scotia by the Micmac Indians it appeared
to have been mainly influenced by
the Irish game of hurling it included
the use of a hurley stick and a square
wooden block instead of a ball. It
was probably fundamentally this game
that spread throughout Canada via
Scottish and Irish immigrants and
the British army. The players adopted
elements of field hockey such as the
bully later the face-off and shinning
hitting your opponent on the shins
with the stick or playing with the
stick on one shin or side this later
evolved into an informal ice game
later known as shinny or shinty. The
name hockey--as the organized game
came to be known--has been attributed
to the French word hoquet shepherds
stick.
Sounds good to me.
They also add the following Historical
facts about ice hockey
The term rink referring
to the playing area was originally
used in the game of curling in 18th-century
Scotland. Early hockey games allowed
as many as 30 players a side on the
ice and the goals were two stones
each frozen into one end of the ice.
The first use of a puck instead of
a ball was recorded at Kingston Harbour
Ont. in 1860
Now that sounds like
more fun than a bucket of squirrels.
eh. They further ramble on and tell
us about the structuring of ice hockey.
Rules were set by students
at McGill University in Montral Canada
in 1879 and several amateur clubs
and leagues were established in Canada
by the late 1880s. The game is believed
to have been first played in the United
States in 1893. By the beginning of
the 20th century the sport had spread
to Great Britain and other parts of
Europe. The modern game developed
in Canada and nowadays is very popular
in North America and East Europe.
And lastly we come
to the NHL and these little tidbits.
The National Hockey
League NHL is the most important league
in the world it comprises teams from
the United States and Canada but for
many years almost all NHL players
were Canadians. The winning team of
this competition is awarded the Stanley
Cup trophy. Ice Hockey was added to
the Olympic Games in 1920 being one
of the most popular events at the
Winter Olympics.
Now I do not claim
to be a historian so if you disagree
with anything I posted here i leave
it to you to do your own research
but in the end what we have is one
of the best games on the planet. It
is fast it is action packed it has
fights for gods sakes and not little
shoving events that are broken up
right away but full on scraps that
can go on for a good period of time.
As the old joke goes... we went to
a fight and a hockey game broke out
Here is a funny little
tidbit i found in my research. The
Battle of the Hockey Enforcers was
a sporting event held in Prince George
British Columbia Canada on August
29 2005.
The event consisted
of ice hockey enforcers fighting on
the ice in full hockey gear as sometimes
seen in regular games. Like in the
NHL no fighting on the ground was
allowed and the referees separated
the fighters if the fight turned too
one-sided. If a fight did not end
in a referee stoppage it was judged
by a panel of hockey experts.
The event was somewhat
successful the CN Centre was about
1/3 full with 2000 spectators but
the pay per view sales have been reported
to be encouraging.
The most famous participant
was a former NHL player Link Gaetz
but he had to withdraw after experiencing
concussion-like symptoms after his
first fight. The winner was Dean Mayrand
from Windsor Ontario who plays for
the Sorel-Tracy Mission in the Ligue
nord-amricaine de hockey. Mayrand
defeated Mike Sgroi in the final round
receiving an award of $62000.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Hockey_Enforcers
OK now that I live
in Costa Rica I missed that one but
for all of you Canadians we all know
how well the Rockem Sockem series
of videos sold probably out on DVD
now too I bet... So I can just imagine.
For those of you not familiar with
Rockem Sockem just google that or
Don Cherry. Classic stuff and it really
brings it home about what hockey is
all about.
A fellow Expat another
handicapper who lives down here in
Costa Rica who happens to hail from
the USA often points out the great
hits in Football and yes they are
very impressive and he speaks about
the only sport to have legalized violence
HA I say... Hockey has Football beat
hands down. I a working from memory
here but I am sure I have personally
witnessed at least 3 bench clearing
brawls and one fight that pitted enforcers
from bitter rival teams scrap it out
for like 20 million hours or something
like that.
Here is some great
Hockey Trivia for you I found at http://members.aol.com/blueshull/thanks.html
1.Who Said: Even if
I wanted to go straight I said to
myself I couldnt: there are too many
enforcers around the league looking
to take me on and prove they are number
one?
Dave Schultz They didnt
call him The Hammer for nothing. In
the 1970s Schultz was the baddest
Broad Street Bully racking up misconducts
and fighting majors faster than you
can say Philadelphia City of Brotherly
Love. He did have one 20-goal season
but Schultz was the games chief good
defending his title every game. Between
1972 and 1975 Schultz accounted for
22% of all penalty minutes amassed
by the Flyers the most penalized team
in hockey. His 1974-75 recorded for
most penalty minutes 427 in one season
remains unbeaten
2. Which teams were
involved in the brawl that brought
about the NHLs fights All-Star game?
Bruins-Maple Leafs
The NHLs first All-Star game was a
benefit match for Torontos Ace Bailey
who had been seriously injured in
a Bruin-Maple Leafs fight in 1934.
Bostons Eddie Shore retaliating for
a trip by King Clancy mistook Bailey
for Clancy and charged him from behind.
Bailey struck the ice fracturing his
skull he lay twisted and twitching
in a seizure-like state. The Leafs
Red Horner then decked Shore knocking
him cold on the ice. Both teams stormed
over the boards. The melee ended with
Horner and Conacher holding off the
Bruins with sticks raised bayonet-fashion.
Near death for 10 days Bailey recorded
was well enough to attend his benefit
All-Star game and shake hands with
Shore at center ice. For the rest
of the season the Bruins wore helmets.
Bailey never played another game.
3. Name the only two
50-goal scorers in NHL history who
at some point in their careers also
led the League in penalty minutes.
Vic Hadfield and Maurice
Richard No NHLer has ever managed
to score 50 goals and become penalty
leader in the same season but Hadfield
and Richard earn a footnote in history
as the only players who did both in
a career. Hadfield served a league-leading
151 minutes in the box 1963-64 and
eight years later in 1971-72 scored
50 goals. Surprisingly Richard the
NHLs first 50 goal scorer in 1944-45s
50 game schedule was no slouch when
it came to box time more than doubling
his career record 544 goals with 1285
career penalty minutes. but Richards
fame has never been measured in penalties
and when in 1952-53 he amassed a league-leading
112 minutes it beat Terrible Ted Lindsays
season mark by only one minute!
4. What two teams brawled
on the ice before the start of a 1987
playoff game?
Flyers-Canadiens. During
the Wales Conference finals a bizarre
pre-game brawl erupted at the end
of the warm-up period when two Flyers
tried to prevent the Canadiens from
performing their pre-game ritual of
shooting the puck into Phillys empty
net. As most players were heading
to the dressing rooms Flyers goalie
Chico Resch streaked back onto the
ice and threw his stick at the puck
while hitman Ed Hospodar took on Montreals
Shayne Corson and Claude Lemieux.
Within seconds both teams were engaged
in a full-scale battle. Officials
handed out $24000 in fines.
5. Who hold the record
for the most penalties in one game?
Chris Nilan It wasnt
a good night for hockey on March 31
1991 when Hartford met Most in a 3
and a half hour free-for-all that
saw 10 misconducts handed out. Nilans
pugilistic skills made him the busiest
man on the ice that night collecting
42 penalty minutes in a record 10
penalties including six minors two
majors and one 10 minute misconduct
and one game misconduct.
6. Which player received
the longest NHL suspension ever for
a playing infraction?
Tom Lysiak After being
thrown out of the faceoff circle by
linesman Ron Foyt in 1982 Chicagos
Lysiak waited till the puck was dropped
skated to the Blackhawk bench where
Foyt was standing and deliberately
took the feet out from under him.
At his disciplinary hearing Lysiak
was suspended for 20 games for physical
abuse of an official.
7. A bomb exploded
during a Detroit-Montreal game at
the Forum in 1955 sparking the famous
Maurice Richard riot. Where was the
Rocket?
In the stands Richard
was sitting directly behind the Detroit
goal about 40 feet away from Clarence
Campbell. The NHL president had suspended
Richard earlier in the week for deliberately
punching an official during a game.
The suspension included the seasons
final three games and the playoffs.
At stake were Richards scoring lead
the Canadiens first place finish and
the Stanley Cup. For Montreal fans
losing Richard -- their idol and Montreals
best player -- was a slap in the face.
Ironically the tear gas bomb obviously
targeted for Campbell exploded very
close to Richards seat. The game was
cancelled and rioting spilled out
onto the Montreal streets. Only a
radio appeal by Richard quieted the
city. All was lost: the Rockets scoring
title the Habs first place finish
and the cup finals. To this day Jean
Beliveau believes that with Richards
help the Canadiens would have won
the Stanley Cup in 1955.
8. Who is the NHLs
all-time penalty leader?
Dave Williams Over
13 seasons Williams averaged 4.12
minutes per game in the box. With
his total of 3966 penalty minutes
Williams accumulated almost 1000 minutes
more than his nearest rival. Altogether
Williams has spent about 74 games
penalized!!
9.Which 1991-92 50-goal
scorer received the most penalty minutes?
Kevin Stevens Youve
got to be playing your career best
when you finish second overall in
League scoring with 123 points only
9 back of Mario Lemieux and still
spend as much time in the box as heavyweight
Chris Nilan. Despite his 252 penalty
minutes Stevens scored 54 goals in
1991-92 more than Roberts 219 PIM/53
goals Roenick 98 PIM/53 goals and
Hull 48 PIM/70 goals.

10. What is the Piestany
Punch-up?
A World Junior Championship
brawl It was the most violent melee
in the history of international hockey.
The Soviets out of medal contention
had nothing to lose. Team Canada was
applying pressure trying to increase
a 4-2 lead and go for the gold medal.
Then it happened. Canadian and Soviet
players fed up with the stickwork
and running at each other dropped
their gloves and engaged in a 20 minute
brawl that cleared the benches. With
the fight out of control the officials
left the ice and the arena lights
dimmed. The game was never resumed.
Both teams were disqualified and their
records were erased.
OK now on to more stuff
about hockey and my little rant. What
the hell is this Shoot Out This is
absolutely the worst thing I have
ever seen or heard of in professional
sports. I mean really. It has nothing
what-so-ever to do with the actual
game and is completely fd up! Want
an example. Lets say this was the
NFL and the game ended as a tie. I
know lets put the kickers on the field
and have em kick field goals moving
them back 5 yards after each successfull
attemt until one of them misses. The
winner of the game will be the team
that makes the last good attempt at
the FG. What do you think? Ya thats
what I thought too.
OK thats that for that.
Now back to my googling and the results.
One of the if not the most important
positions in hockey is the goaltender.
A hot goalie can take a team all the
way to the Stanley Cup. Hers is some
fun info I found at http://www.almanac.com/extras/goalies.php
Legendary Goalies
and Hockey Trivia
The most unbreakable
record held by an NHL hockey goalie
belongs to Glenn Hall who played 552
consecutive games in the position
from October 6 1955 to November 8
1962.
The Vezina Trophy is
named after Georges Vezina. Nicknamed
the Chicoutimi Cucumber for his hometown
of Chicoutimi Quebec and for his coolness
under pressure Vezina collapsed on
the ice during a game in Montreal
in 1925. He died of tuberculosis soon
after. He was one of the first 12
inductees into the Hockey Hall of
Fame when it was opened in Toronto
in 1945.
Of the 34 goaltenders
enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame
only Frank Brimsek from Eveleth Minnesota
is American-born.
In 1930 Clint Benedict
of the Montreal Maroons devised the
first mask known to have been worn
in a professional game. It was made
of leather and Benedict abandoned
it after a shot smashed against the
nose piece and split his forehead
open sidelining him for seven weeks.
No other goaltender donned a mask
in a game for another 29 years.
The last NHL goalie
to play without a mask was Lorne Gump
Worsley. Only in his final six games
did he wear one. My face is my mask
he said.
Chicago Black Hawk
center Bobby Hulls slap shot was clocked
at 118 mph. Johnny Bower once said
Trying to stop Hulls shot I was afraid
of getting my head knocked off. In
1927 Elizabeth Graham while goaltending
for Queens University in Kingston
Ontario wore a fencing mask to protect
her face.
The only woman to tend
goal with an NHL team was Manon Rheaume
of Lac Beauport Quebec. In a preseason
game against the St. Louis Blues on
September 23 1992 she played in goal
for one period for the Tampa Bay Lightning
making seven saves and allowing two
goals.
The most successful
sports team in Canadian history remains
the Preston Rivulettes an all-women
ice hockey team that played an estimated
350 games between 1930 and 1940 and
lost only twice to other womens teams.
Wonder if the pressure
of guarding a hockey net shortens
lives? Consider the ages at which
these goalies passed away: Turk Broda
58 Jacques Plante 57 Bill Durnan 56
George Hainsworth 55 Terry Sawchuk
40 Georges Vezina 39 Charlie Gardiner
29.
Prior to 1965 the most
exclusive club in all of sports was
in the NHL nets. With only six teams
and one goalie per team only six men
in North America could claim to be
a professional goalie at its highest
level. Beginning with the 1965-66
season NHL teams started carrying
two goalies.
Well I could
just go on forever and ever with this
but lets wrap it up here with this
small note. Hockey can be a great
way to pad your bankroll for the king
of betting sports Football so do a
little research and check out that
hockey game eh!
George Smeader is a documented member
of The Professional Handicappers League.
Read more of his articles and get
his premium plays here.
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