The real Hockey fans

Hockey-the biggest game

I became a fan of hockey in 1963. I watched my first game at a friend's House as a freshman in high school. He was a fan of the Chicago Black Hawks. I've always been a fan of baseball and football fan but hockey was different. It was like a tug of war. Sometimes, the momentum would shift from minute to minute. Other times a team you want to control others and dominate them for entire periods. The players had different combinations of talent and tenacity.

Like other sports, many players were on the same team throughout their career. Only the player's name and his image will come to mind in their team's uniform. This was the old six NHL teams. The Chicago black hawks, New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens. I became a fan in Toronto. The Maple Leafs were broadcasting center point for Hockey Night In Canada. All teams were proud and ancient traditions. Each had players scoring star, top goalkeepers, defenders and at least one enforcer.

My favorite player was Frank Mahovlich. I got a kick out of watching him skate just above the blue line, settling with a slap shot, and rocket the puck as it was fired from a gun past the goalkeeper. I thought wow so many players to go through all that dipsy doodle and here this guy just blasts what. The leaves have offered in a contract dispute with the big m and the Chicago Black Hawks leaves 1 million for Mahovlich. The leaves first accepted and then rejected. A year after the leaves have won their last Stanley Cup in 1967 they traded him to the Red Wings. That's why I think the leaves (which have not won a Bowl since) are under "the curse of Frank Mahovlich. Of course I became a fan of the Red Wings instantly and then in 1971, a fan of the Montreal Canadiens as the Big M was traded again. Mahovlich won six Stanley Cups. Bobby Hull of the Black Hawks was more like Mahovlich with slap shot and of course the Boom Boom Geoffrion Canadiens has perfected the slap shot and was the second player in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season.

In 1968, the NHL added the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues, Minnesota North Stars, Los Angeles Kings and the Oakland seals. In 1970, dreams have come true here in Buffalo, NY as the Buffalo Sabres became members of the NHL. In 1974 the Philadelphia Flyers became the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup. The Montreal Canadiens and then wheeled off four Stanley Cups in a row just to prove who really was boss. The Canada Cup and the Olympics created some of the biggest games in history.

Hockey now has 30 teams. The lack of an important contract TV hold the sport back by gaining the popularity it deserves. Three teams are in California, two teams are in Florida and one in Georgia, the Carolinas, Texas and Arizona. The sport is starting to cross racial barriers and vast global popularity is booming. They have many great players and stars led by Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.

They say that if sport was presented in its original form, it would blossom in America. Get rid of instigator penalty combat. Hockey's superstars were protected in the NHL old by one, two or three players in each team you want to beat your brain if you put a good blow, slash, spear, or punch one of the skaters the best teams. Added the drama of the game. Today, controls "legal" open ice are causing more trauma and career ending injuries than ever. If someone delivered one of these controls "legal" in the old NHL, they would pay dearly to get drilled on several occasions. Goalkeepers are allowed to skate and move all over the place. I say that if you step outside the crease with the puck, you're a fair game. I like the two-line pass rule.

Fugues are fun to watch. Get rid of that crazy shootout. Let them go 5 minutes with about 4 and then 3 4 Play on play 3. A draw after that wouldn't be a sin and should be allowed. I swear that the NHL's leadership is listening to soccer moms instead of hockey moms. Stop submitting the rink aimed at children. Your marketing people are ruining the game. The light shows are cool but the music is terrible. Organ music old make it compulsory. Let the fans started cheering. About them and not on prod with prerecorded junk. If your fan cannot generate its own team of cheers, then send them to a soccer match. Check out a saber-leaves, Oilers-flames or game Rangers-Islanders. Don't need all that fake stuff to generate enthusiasm.

One last note. If TV fans cannot see the puck is because they have no idea what's going on in the game. It's not the visibility of fast moving puck. Real hockey fans know where is the darn puck and usually where it's going next. We take the hammers and bang up the team bus. Let's get back the biggest game where it belongs-for real hockey fans.

Charles Priore