What's Up, Ya Sieve

Last night, Bruins fans from near and far gathered at The Harp Boston to celebrate the return of the greatest sport on Planet Earth.

The event, dubbed “Hockey Resurrection Party” was hosted by our local sports radio station, couple of hockey blogs, including our friends at Days of Y’Orr and Boston sports apparel juggernaut, Boston SupahFans.

Highlights:

Appearances by Bruins National Anthem singer and fan fave, Rene Rancourt.  He was rocking a USA flag print vest and tuxedo and after he sang the national anthem, pumped up the crowd with his legendary fist pump.

All the people watching.  Hockey fans are a special breed.

Yes, that is a man with a mohawk.

This gentleman’s name: Big Scary Fan Guy.

No party is complete until you bust out the Montreal Canadiens pinata.

Photo ops with hockey players.

Lyndon Byers (AKA LB)  and me

Meeting other female hockey fans who appreciated the game as much as I do.

Custom-made Bruins high heels

Using the guise of the blog to take picture of cute guys.

 I’m talking about you, tall drink of water on the right.

And you, sir, on the left…

Bruins enforcer Shawn Thornton was also there.  From the moment he walked in the door to the moment he left [like 2 hours later], he posed for countless photos with fans.  It’s got to be exhausting to constantly have to smile and deal with those flashes all up in your eyeballs, but he did it with kindness, a smile, and a witty Irish charm.

Earlier in the day, I submitted a question for Thornton for the Q&A to be hosted by @hackswithhaggs.  And whayda ya know! They picked my question!  And he answered it!

My brilliant question:  If you could play on a line with any NHLer (dead or alive), who would it be & why?

ST22:  Cam Neely & Bob Probert.

[If anyone out there has video of Shawn answering last night's question, please send it my way!]

This is a man knows which side is bread is butter on.  The people at The Harp were his “people” and by taking the time to come out, say a few words, snap a few picks, shows us that he gets it.

All in all, a great night. I’m super pumped up for tomorrow!

Hockey is BACK!

It’s ALIVE!

It’s been all Tampa Bay up in here this week so I thought of no better way to round out the week that with a Tampa Bay Lightning Foxy Friday!

This week’s honoree -

Ryan Malone

Here are the stats on Mr. Malone -

• Born in Pittsburgh on December 1, 1979.  Not only is he perfectly age-appropriate for Pants and I, we’re also pretty sure he loves maple bacon donuts. (BONUS!)
• a strapping 6’4″ and 219 lbs. This is not a boy. This is a MAN.
• 1st Pittsburgh area native to play for the Pens
• He wears #12 in honor of his dad, Greg, who also played in the NHL
• Career stats: 560 games played. 347 points (168 G, 179 A). A -45 +/- rating (way harsh, man). 600 minutes of shame. 24 game winning goals.

Now onto the real (and way more fun) Foxy Friday stats…

1. Ryan is affectionately know as “Busgy”.  As in Bugsy Malone. You know, that classic gangster movie acted out entirely by children and starring Scott Baio and Jodie Foster.  (Yes, this is a real movie. No, I’m not joking. Watch the entire film here)

2. He’s got this sort of Hey-Dude-Brah-Matthew-McConaughey thing going on and it is pretty damn endearing.  All that missing is a surf board and photos of him shirtless on the beach in Malibu.  Bongo playing optional.

JK Livin’, man.

3. That “Yo-Adrian-Rocky-Balboa  smile.

4. I like a man whose not afraid to show us how much he loves us.

5. He’s got sweet dance moves. Watch out, Justin Timberlake.

I’m bringing sexy back. Yeah!

6. He’s got famous Foxy Friday friends.

Geno: “This is how we say I love you in Russia.”

anything more presh than Stamkos’ face? I think not.

7. The tattoos.  Pants doesn’t like ‘em, but I love them.  They’re pretty and colorful and completely distracting.

8. Although he is supporting the Evil Empire, I’m going to cut him some slack.  But ONLY because he has excellent flow and keeps excellent company. #longhairdontcare

9. Watch out, James Neal, Claude Giroux, & Don Cherry. Ryan is giving you a run for your money. #plaidsuit

10. He’s got a GGB – a GLORIOUS  ginger beard. Fingers crossed that the Lightning go far in the playoffs so we can see it in all its wonder.

11. Sometimes, he rocks a mustache.  And I don’t hate it.  Not even one little bit.  He actually sort of works on him.

So there you have it, folks – Ryan Malone, this week’s Foxy Friday. Another worth addition to the Foxy Friday Fraternity.

He’s fuzzy.

He’s tatted up.

He looks like he’d be a whole lot of fun at your pool party.

And he’ll make you fall in love in with him.

Hey Gurl….

Is it January 19th yet?

Soon.

Two words:

…if a Mack truck wore a NY Rangers sweater.

Here I was, just minding my own, thinking I was doing all well with the return of hockey.  I was just going to ease right back into it and get my bearings…then BAM…Rick Nash.

from blueshirtsunited.com

Damn you, Rick Nash.  Damn you and your LLBean-boyfriend good looks and luscious, glorious, perfect hockey flow.

My head is spinning.

I need to sit down.

Now, I’ve gone from 1 to a 1000 and need the season to start NOW!

from blueshirtsunited.com

I need my tumblr feed to be filled with photos of this lumberjack.  I need youtube to full of clips of his highlight reel goals.

from blueshirtsunited.com

I respect the Rangers and the team that they’ve assembled and there is no doubt that they will again contend for the Stanley Cup.  They came *thisclose* last year and the addition of Nash with all his skill and dominating potential could prove the final piece of the puzzle.

For any of you who regularly read this blog or follow our twitter know how I feel about this player.  So God help you all if he breaks out in a big way this season.

WUYS will be Rick Nash Central.

from blueshirtsunited.com

“Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.”― John F. Kennedy

“When you forgive, you love. And when you love, God’s light shines upon you.” ― Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild

“Three months ago, if you asked me, I would have told you that if you really loved someone, you’d let them go. But now I look at you, and I dreamed about Maggie, and I see that I’ve been wrong. If you really love someone, Allie, I think you have to take them back.”

“A broken friendship that is mended through forgiveness can be even stronger than it once was.”

“Jane, I never meant to wound you thus…Will you ever forgive me?” Reader, I forgave him at the moment and on the spot.” ― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

It’s no big secret that we here at WUYS are big fans of Tyler Seguin.

Pants only recently jumped onboard the Ty-Ty Train and I’m delighted to see that she, like so many, has become wise to the power of this tattooed man-child.

I probably shouldn’t like this photo.

But I can’t help it.

It is the perfect reflection of Seguin’s new carefree European lifestyle.

And I love it.

The hair - Fierce.  Perfectly imperfect tousled locks.  James Neal would approve.

The beard – while not totally up to my impossibly-high facial hair standards, it is a drastic improvement the Teen Wolf debacle that he sported a couple of seasons ago.  Give it a few more weeks and we could have something quite worthy.

Don’t know about you, but I’m really digging this new Tyler.  This carefree, bohemian, European Tyler.

Wonder when we’re going to get carefree, bohemian, European Patrick Kane.

Wait…nevermind.

No one wants to see that.

3,821 miles.

That is what separates me from Rick Nash.

While I am left here to wallow in my ever increasing depression over the state of the NHL, Rick is over in Switzerland just having a grand ole time.

He’s climbing the Alps and making snowmen with Joe Thornton.

He’s looking impossibly adorable in a ridiculous uniform.  What is that logo on his hockey pants?  Is that the castle from Super Mario Brothers?

Power up!

He’s scoring hat tricks. Like a boss.

He’s rocking some flow that makes me feel all those feels.

Come back, NHL. Come back, Rick Nash.

I miss you.

This year, Boston University has a corps of nine freshman looking to make their mark on the Terriers and Hockey East.  The five forwards, two defensemen and two goaltenders come to Comm Ave. with very high expectations.

No doubt the story of the season will be the two freshman goaltenders – Matt O’Connor and Sean Maguire.  Both are big netminders – O’Connor is Pekka Rinne-sized at 6’5″, 201lbs and Maguire is no slouch either at 6’2″, 202lbs.

They probably could stand to hit up Rhett’s or Cranberry Farms at the Student Union just a little more frequently, but we highly suggest taking advantage of BU’s excellent strength and conditioning program.

We also suggest filming said strength and conditioning workouts and posting them on the interwebs.

You know how we feel about hockey workout videos.

Following s statistical info taken from www.goterriers.com

Matt O’Connor
G • 6-5 • 195 • Toronto, Ont. • Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)
Spent last two seasons with Youngstown, helping Phantoms reach 2012 USHL Eastern Conference semifinals … Finished 2011-12 season with a record of 28-16-5, a 3.04 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage … Tied for second in the league in wins and was second in saves (1350) … Spent two years in OJHL with Upper Canada Patriots and Burlington Cougars … Posted .903 save percentage in 2009-10 … Was OJHL’s only 16-year-old goalie in 2008-09 for expansion Upper Canada club.

Parker on O’Connor: “Matt’s another goalie with great size. He was the backstop of a pretty good USHL team, but he was the go-to guy for that team. He saw a lot of pucks. He had a real good career there, and despite an injury that kept him back a little bit, he emerged as one of the premier goalies in the league. We’re confident that he and Maguire can give us a one-two punch right off the bat.”

Sean Maguire
G • 6-2 • 202 • Powell River, B.C. • Powell River Kings (BCHL)

Played two seasons with Powell River, posting a record of 27-15-1 with a 2.39 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage in 52 games … Guided team to BCHL finals this past season and back-to-back Coastal Conference titles … Named a 2012 Second Team All-Star … Backstopped Team Canada West to a gold medal at the World Junior A Challenge in November and was named tournament’s top goaltender … Two-time co-winner of the BCHL’s Wally Forslund Memorial Trophy (lowest combined GAA) … Selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the fourth round (113th overall) in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Parker on Maguire: “Maguire’s a big guy who fills a lot of the net and he’s got a lot of talent. He had a real good junior career in Canada. We’ve known him for a couple of years and really like him. We knew we were coming to this point where we were losing two senior goalies and we were very fortunate to get him.”

And if that wasn’t enough, they are also both celebrity doppelgängers!   

Liam Hemsworth & Chris Evans’ love child

AKA Finn from “Glee”

Seriously.

We love this.

If this alone doesn’t get you the cheer for them…well, then…you’re just dumb.

Follow them on the Twitter:
Matt O’Connor – @MatttOConnor
Sean Maguire – @smag31

For weeks now, I’ve been wishing and hoping and praying (and sticking pins in my Gary Bettman voodoo doll) that this ridiculous lockout would come to an end.

With no foreseeable resolution in sight, I have to focus my hockey attention elsewhere…for the sake of my own mental health and for those around me.

Luckily, Sunday was the unofficial start of the Boston University Men’s Hockey season.  Although college hockey will never be the NHL, it is a very welcome and satiating alternative, especially at BU.

You see, BU Hockey is one of the premier college hockey programs in the country.  It has produced countless numbers of NHL stars, Olympic medal winners, and All-Americans.  They won national championships, the most recent in 2009 in what can only be describe as an “epic OT win”.

Three years later and I still get goosebumps every time I see this clip.

Additionally, BU is a member of Hockey East which includes Boston College, Maine, University of New Hampshire, and UMass (Lowell & Massachusetts), who have also produced NHL-caliber talent.  Add in Notre Dame next season and you’d be hard pressed to find a more competitive and prestigious conference in NCAA Hockey.

But the thing I love most about college hockey is the “Before They Were Famous” cache.  You have a chance to watch players grow – not only physically but in their understanding of the game of hockey.

Their passes become sharper, their slapshots more accurate, their hits harder.  And then for the lucky few who do make it into the NHL, you gets to say “I saw them when”.

When they make it to the NHL, you cheer them on, even when they play for your arch rival.

You always write them in on the All-Star ballot, even if they have no chance of making it.

BU had a rough go of it in the off-season with major internal drama and the loss of key players.  The team has 9 freshman, include 2 goalies who will fight for the starting job, but watching them on Sunday, I’m filled with a tentative optimism for the season ahead.

Alot can happen in college hockey. The pendulum can swing from one extreme to another over the course of a season, a game, or even a period.

College hockey might be an imperfect game but it is exciting, entertaining, and passionate.

And right now, it’s the only game I got.

Oh wait…

He was born in Sweden.

Since that won’t work, I guess we’ll just have to settle for “Captain.”

 This is my Captain face.

Today, the Avalanche made history by making the 19-year-old the youngest captain in NHL history.

Take that, Sidney Crosby.

Landeskog is 19 year, 286 days old – 11 days younger that Captain Awkward Pockets who was 19 years, 297 days old when he was given the “C” waaaaaaaaaaaaay back in May 2007.

This move to make Landeskog the captain comes after Milan Hejduk announced that he was giving up his role as the Avalanche’s captain.  He will continue to serve as an alternate captain, along with Paul “Bang Bang Bang” Stastny.

Landeskog will be just the 4th captain in Avalanche history, the 11th captain in Avs/Nordiques history, and only the third European born player to serve as captain.

Who’s got thumbs and is the youngest captain in the NHL?
THIS GUY!

It’s no secret that Foppa 2.0 is a huge favorite here at WUYS.

He’s just so darn awesome that we can’t contain ourselves.

somuchlandeskoging.

He’s been named a Foxy Friday.

We adore his twitter wikkid hahd corah.

And we lauded his feats of super-human hockey strength.

He possesses all the qualties that a future NHL superstar should have – talent, bucket loads of charisma, excellent camera presence, and a face that could launch a thousand ships.

We are card-carrying members of the Gabriel Landeskog fan club and today’s announcement makes us really happy.

Now if we can only sort out that whole NHL vs. NHLPA business…

Peep this, ladies.