Last weekend a group of buddies and myself headed to Boston for the ultimate hockey road trip.  (See previous blog)  We had a great time, and here are some of the personal highlights of the trip:

Thursday

- We loaded up the car and hit the road by 8am in Ottawa.  Made our first pit-stop at 8:04 at the local Tim Hortons

- Made great time threw Montreal and crossed the border into Vermont with very little resistance.  Loaded up on “Canadian beer” at Duty Free to last the trip

- Decided to pull off the highway in rural New Hampshire and stretch our legs.  We stumbled across the “New Hampshire State Gun and Liquor Store.”  What a great combination!

- We arrived in Boston around 4pm and checked into our hotel which was a stones toss away from the Boston Gardens.

- During the next 3 hours leading up to game time at a local pub and walking up to the Gardens while wearing our Phil Kessel Leafs jerseys we quickly realized two things:

1) How passionate Bostonians are about their Bruins, and

2) How bitter they still are over the Kessel deal

- Needless to say, we were verbally accosted throughout the game, but it was great to see the passion and incredible atmosphere that is painfully missing in Ottawa at the Scotia Bank Place.

- It was a great game with countless momentum swings and the Leafs eventually lost in a shootout, but hey, we’ll take all the points we can get right now!

Friday

- After shaking off the morning haze from a successful night we decided to explore Boston, and we couldn’t have asked for a nicer weather, it was beautiful out!

- Only a ten minute walk from our hotel was “Quincy Square” where we stopped for lunch at Cheers.  Although Cheers was a little before our time, it was neat to see where the show was taped and we made sure to sit at the bar and enjoy a beer.

- Next, we headed down to the Boston Harbor and took in all the sights

- After that, we jumped on the train and headed cross-town to Fenway Park.  What an amazing building!  The history and character of Fenway is incredible, it was almost surreal to be standing in front of the park.  We headed over to the “Boston Beer Works” which overlooked the field from the inside of the restaurant, very very cool.

- Sticking with the hockey road trip theme, we attended a college hockey game Friday night between Boston University and cross-town rivals Boston College.  If you haven’t watched an NCAA game live, I strongly recommend you see one, it’s a great experience.  The live band brings a whole new element to the game you don’t normally see and the school pride amongst the student body is phenomenal.

Saturday

- We checked out of our hotel Saturday morning and got back on the road to Ottawa.  We made great time and decided to stop in Burlington, Vermont for lunch.  It was another beautiful day and we sat on the patio in the picturesque mountainous town and enjoyed the view.

- Finally we arrived back in Ottawa after an 8-hour trip and drove directly to the Scotia Bank Place to complete the road-trip with a Senators/Leafs game on a Saturday night.  Needless to say we were pretty exhausted as we arrived at the rink, but we quickly found our second wind once the game got going.  The Leafs played another great game and this time we were rewarded with a 2-1 shootout victory over our rivals from Ottawa.  What a great way to end a successful trip!

All said and done, we had a fantastic trip and were able to watch 3 hockey games in 3 nights while taking in the sights and scenes of a new city.

I would love to hear your hockey road-trip stories whether it is for an NHL game, Olympics, Oldtimers tournament etc.!

Canadians from coast-to-coast released a collective sigh of relief after last nights 7-3 thrashing of the dreaded Russians.  Many hockey pundits, including myself believed that a Canada/Russia matchup was inevitable, although no one imagined we would see it in the quarter finals.  Proving that anything can happen in such a short tournament, Canadian and Russian fans were tantalized at the prospect of being eliminated so early in the playoff round and no one could have predicted the outcome of the game we witnessed.

Anticipating a nerve-wracking, tightly contested game I was pleasantly surprised with a full-on Canadian onslaught that resulted in an unfathomable 4-1 lead after the first period.  In true Canadian hockey fashion, we came flying out of the gates and physically punished the Russians at every chance.  This physical domination translated into a wealth of offensive opportunities that created a comfortable lead for the Canadian squad.  Russian netminder Ilya Bryzgalov summed it up well as we described Canada: “came at us like gorillas out of a cage.”

A few ears must have been burning in the locker-room prior to last nights game as a handful of Canadian players who have been heavily criticized for lack of production stepped up in a big way.  Dan Boyle was an offensive dynamo from the backend, and forwards Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf easily had their best games of the tournament.  Consider the critics silenced.

I was dumbfounded yesterday afternoon as I listened to a sports talk radio show as caller after caller continually chimed in and ripped this Canadian team apart.  They were critical of the start to the tournament Canada has had, critical of certain players for not producing, critical of the coaching staff and management brass for roster selections and incredibly, even questioned the heart and desire of the players.  I realize the passion that Canadians have for hockey and the fact that we will accept nothing less than gold, but to bring the players commitment level and heart into the equation is unacceptable.  The Olympics are such a short tournament and we only had 1 full practice as a team before our first game.  You cannot possibly expect the chemistry to instantaneously connect among a group of new teammates.  As expected, it took a few games of getting use to one another and a few different line combinations to really get going.  Steve Yzerman released a statement to all of Canada after the loss to the Americans and it was simple: relax.  He emphasized the importance of improving game by game and peaking at the right time.  Looks like he knows what he is talking about after all.

Personally, I love the Olympics for the parity it produces.  There have been 3 Olympics since NHL’ers have been allowed to compete, and we have seen 6 different teams in the Gold Medal Game.  These Olympics are proving no different as the Slovaks upset the Swedes to confirm their date with Canada in the Semi’s.  On the other side, we will see an unlikely matchup featuring the upstart Americans and the always pesky Finns.  I think I speak on behalf of all of Canada as I desperately want redemption against the Americans in the Gold Medal Game.  Really, I should take my own advice and expect the unexpected, but hey, here’s hoping!