A couple nights ago, my high school Alma Mater and perennial power, St. Edward played a thrilling 5 overtime playoff game...The Eagles lost 3-2 to The Green Wave of Holy Name, coached by a couple of former Eagles...
Holy Name goalie Sam Pikus was outstanding, making 74 saves...74! That itself was impressive as hell....
But today I was talking with the father of St. Edward captain, Gabe Lampron...The kid is really good...It's looking like he may pass on a college scholarship, and take a shot at juniors...Well after the game...After 5 overtimes, and a crushing loss for a program that expects to be in the state final four every year, Lampron's father noticed a number of players crying...This is something we see often in youth sports...He asked his son "Why weren't you crying?" Gabe responded, "I left everything out there, I have no reason to cry. It's just hockey."
Those words. "it's just hockey" may bother some people...But to me, this kid seems like he may have his shit together...He's been scouted...He's had scholarship offers...But in the end, compared to other things in the world, "it's just hockey." He was confident enough, and proud enough to know he "left everything out there"...So why cry? He's right...Sometimes you lose...But if you leave it all out there, you've got no reason to cry.
Great season by the Eagles!
Holy Name takes on the Rocky River Pirates Saturday in the District finals...
Yes, I want to know why Todd Bertuzzi is still allowed to play in the NHL...The guy came up through the ranks as a gritty hard-nosed player...He had plenty of skill to go with his size, and grit, but somewhere along the way, he became a piece of shit...
We saw this come to light in 2004, when he sucker-punched Steve Moore from behind, drove him head first into the ice, and broke his neck...He ended Moore's career...Why? Because the Canucks put a bounty out on Moore for a hit he knocked Markus Naslund out with... Moore's hit on Naslund was not ruled illegal by the NHL when it happened...It would be today probably...
But Hockey has always policed itself, and our present day uber-asshole, Matt Cooke went after Moore...They dropped the gloves, and that should have been it...Moore seemed to come out on top... But it wasn't enough for Bertuzzi...
Bertuzzi served a suspension, and apologized and all that crap...But to me, that didn't matter...They way he jumped Moore from behind should have had him booted for good...Since then Bertuzzi hasn't changed his game...He has continued to play physical hockey, and every year he has at least one questionable hit...
Well he did it again this week, with a flying elbow to the head of The Blackhawks, Ryan Johnson...
So how the hell are we suppose to get rid of assholes like Matt Cooke, when assholes like Bertuzzi are still around!?!
And does any of this have anything to do with what happened in a Texas High School Hockey game? I'm not sure I want to open that can of worms yet, but here's what happened...
I love Hockey, and I love the physical aspect of the game, the intentional head-shot shit has got to stop...And guys like Bertuzzi, and Cooke have had their second chances...Now they should be gone...
