CrashingTheGoalie

by Ron Spence
When it came to Sedins bashing, I was near the head of the line.
I didn’t like the way that they: kept falling down; let rivals face wash them; took up ice time which they didn’t deserve, with their quality of play [at the time]; kept cycling and never shot the puck; weren’t sent [...]

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by desertdawg
Talk a bout déjà vu!
Twice before, the Canucks have created a stir in the hockey world by bringing in a highly regarded centerman. Why should we expect a different result this time?
Well, I’ll tell you because I was around for both.
In 1989 the Canucks brought in Igor Larianov. He of the eidetic game memory [...]

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Brendan has had a slow start down in Disney country. He’s recovering from an injury and playing with new teammates in a different system. But things are getting better.
The L.A. Times, the L.A. Daily News and Orange Country Register describe his improvement:
LOS ANGELES TIMES
MATTERS ARE IMPROVING FOR DUCKS’ BRENDAND MORRISON
Morrison, who had a major [...]

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by Ron Spence
It was a wonderful evening for British Columbia, the Canucks and Trevor Linden.
The number “16″ was retired, and raised into the rafters of GM Place.
Nobody in Canucks’ history has been more deserving of the honour than Trevor Linden.
Linden’s is the second jersey to grace the GM Place ceiling.
But why haven’t more players been [...]

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by Ron Spence
Vancouver fans are excited.
With the addition of Swedish holdout, Mats Sundin, many B.C. puck watchers believe that the Canucks have gained admission into the NHL’s top strata.
But, wait a minute. There are other teams queuing up to join hockey’s elite.
One such team is the Chicago Blackhawks, who the Canucks will be playing on saturday night.
Chris [...]

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by Ron Spence
Only three players in NHL history have accomplished an “Empire State Hat Trick.”
What is it? Who are the players? And which of the three was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame?
Both Mike Donnelly and Jason Dawe played for the New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, and New York Rangers, all teams in the [...]

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by desertdawg
My Trevor Linden story isn’t much, but at the time, it spoke volumes to me.
I was doing some sports work for a Victoria radio station back in 1991 when I went to the Canuck camp up-island in Parksville. I had interviewed lots of hockey players by then and had a boat load of tapes [...]

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by Ron Spence
They’re recurring nightmares. I can’t shake them….
The first one’s of me stranded in a room full of women jurors and I’ve been charged with lying to numerous girls during my misspent youth.
They keep chanting, “Bad boys need to be spanked. Bad boys need to be spanked….”

And then Mike Gillis goes on television and [...]

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by Ron Spence
Darcy Hordichuk’s been in the news over the past couple of days, not for using his fists, but rather his foot – which has moved in and out of his mouth as fast as one of his knockout punches.
Darcy has always been a funny guy, but has never stumbled over the line before. [...]

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by desertdawg
The problem in Florida? Well, for one thing, not too many fans are coming to see the team. Which is too bad because Florida has one of the better young teams in the league these days. They are well-coached, have a decent defensive core (even with noted brainiacs Bryan McCabe) and an [...]

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