observations from the West Arm

It's Saturday Night and its alright for fightin'...get a little action in!!!



Bobby Hull is here, Marcel Pronovost, Scotty Bowman, Lanny MacDonald, Billy Smith, Brian Trottier, Michelle Goulet, Börje Salming, Peter Statsney, Glen Anderson, Johnny Bower are here as well!

It's Hall of Fame weekend and I'm all ears and eyes here on the West Arm of Lake Nippising, snuggled in cozy at the camp, tuned in for some great hockey!

The Fab Four! That's what Mclean is callin' them this eve. Their class complimented the recognition in the builders category of famed hockey man, GM extraordinaire, Lou Lamoreillo. I have never warmed to his style but no denying his great contributions to the game!

Brett Hull, Brian Leetch, Luc Robitaille and Steve Yzerman are indeed the Fab Four! I don't think I have ever known a more elite group! When you consider this statue it was so refreshing to hear, to a man, credit given to others for their good fortune. Bret Hull acknowledging one can't do this by ones self, siting Peter Zezel amoung his friends. Leetch giving full credit to the great Messier without whom he would not have achieved greatness. Lucky Luc, really a nice guy, praising coaches like Burns for making him a man and of course the classy Stevey-Y , ultimate diplomat, careful to include everyone down to the stick boy with his success.

Congrats to all of them. These guys truly represent MY game!

If you haven't guessed it already I'm watchin' the Opening game of Hockey Night in Canada. Leafs/Wings. The ceremony is nice and it feels real to see all these legends but somehow I am taken a back they aren't opening with a tribute to the boys over seas. It is traditionally ' Remembrance Day' weekend up here in Canada. The NHL can plug there product as all that matters any other day of the year but they ought not forget that up here hockey is so much more than the NHL.

WEll, on with the game, finally. The Leafs are wearing white at home. How does that work? Maybe its cause we see them every Saturday, but they seem to be the only team that can do this. Someone said all teams have the option, yet, I don't see them usin' it.

WOW, T.O. storms out of the gate!

Ceremony must have rusted up the Wings wings cause they look slow and stiff. You know Its got to be a long grind when your playin' 200 odd games over the last couple of seasons. You know when you consider how deep they go into the spring!

The 'Monster' Gustavsson makes a great save early! Five into the first and these Wings are sloppy, almost seem disinterested.


Man! Orr crushes Lebda! Good hit, had his down.

Wings fire up their puck possession game for a shift but wait, Lebda gets caught flat footed and T.O. scores! Primeau from Orr and Finger! Go figure, old time hockey is alive and well! I'm hearin Healy sayin' what we all saw , Orr's hit on Lebda could well end up the turning point of the period!

Great save Osgood! Did you knoe the Leafs have the second best PP in the league?...eh?...thats a WTF EH!...
Tomas Karbele leads the league with 12 PP points...eh?..

Hey! Kessel sets up and converts for a goal! His first as a Leaf! Burke must have just passed some gas, how do you spell relief!
Period ends 2-0 Leafs...eh?...

Coaches Corner next! I know plenty of fans that wherever, whatever, at about 8pm every Saturday stop and find a tube to catch Grapes! Even if they can't watch the game! Tonight is his November 11th special. He jumps right into the hit on the young fellow in Juniors stating that although it was, by today's standards, not far from legit he did warn the world, what with the obstruction call and handcuffing of the defense this type of charging in at full tilt would result in injuries.

Her are the five tips he gave to budding players who play defense:

1) be smart...identify where you are in relationship to the boards
2)let the goalie handle the puck...there are rules to protect him(her)
3) no touch icing...I wrote this down at the time and really don't understand what the tip is
4)know who's on the ice...the great players always take note of who is on the ice, identifying who might be likely to take your head off I guess?
5) never turn your back...good advice there!



As is tradition the show now turns to displaying photos and military descriptions of Canadians lost in Afghanistan...I truly admire both Cherry and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's commitment to reflecting their primary asset, the people of Canada, son's and daughters paying for world peace with their lives in the name freedom and every persons right to claim such!



Just flipped over to watch Jersey/Ottawa just as a soft shot goes in on Marty. You know I've noticed for a couple of seasons now Brodeur is beat a lot glove side sharp angle. These were the shots that built his legend, they never went in!

Hey, I'm not sure how the second is goin' in T.O., I've wondered off and found the Tampa/Hab's game...2-1 in the second...holy man those Bolts are huge compared to most any match up the Hab's can give em'...

tune back in to hear the crowd singin' Happy Birthday to Johnny Bower...THE! Johnny Bower!...85 yrs young!...MAn 3-0 T.O.---eh?...yeah thats WTF!...fact is Burkee might be right, his boys may well have turned a corner...

...OH, Oh...Jason Williams is down! A nasty twist of his leg!
Between periods again the CBC has another feature ' After 40 Minutes where a panel of 'not always so bright' hockey commentators give us the lowdown on our league. Must be time to slow down of the brewskies cause Milbury is makin' sense!

Here we go again talking hits to the head. Buddy has invented a helmet, the shell detaches leaving the linerstill straped on so one can get punched in the head safely....WHAAA>...me and Milbury almost pee our pants on that one!...personally I always thought it a good idea to not let the other guy hit me in the head...why not apply that logic to gettin' clobbered in the open ice...be ready! pay attention!...and for God sake keep your head up!...what?... too much golf or what?...

...wow..there goes Mike Milbury makin' sense again...enough already!...if you don't want to get hurt...don't play!, don't take that money and don't pretend you can play at this level!...I've always felt its superior defense mechanisms that separate those who can play at this level and those that can't... anyway, what happened to calling the game...charging is still a penalty or what?

Back in Montreal it's apparent Tampa Bays size is an advantage.

...still 0--3 Leafs....EH??

...OK beautiful pass from Ralfaski to Cleary for his 100th NHL goal...all thats missing for his home province of Newfoundland is Bob Cole calling the play!...what a soft pass from Ralph to get in behind D!...nice shovel over from Lidstrom also...wait Draper in behind the Blue and White...what up?...eh?...thats a canuck eh...

...holy cow!...5-1 T.O....well played boys...only bad news of the night for Leafs fans is that Michael Komisarek left late in the third with an injury...or maybe thats not bad news...all in all agood skate but not much of a test from these Wings on this particular night...I gotta say what has been said many times before and rebuked by the faithful every time...they look old!...

...Jersey 3 Ottawa 2...18 saves for Marty, pretty much a typical shot total from a Jersey strutured system...Lou's fingerprints...

...well boys and girls I gotta be honest and tell you I had to many and fell a sleep on the couch...the wood stove went out and I woke up cold and confused but than as I focused on the tube I saw the sweetest thing I'd seen all season....



...Phenuff put it to Avery as he was cuttin' across the D zone!...



...there a hockey God and hes watchin' over this old fan on the West Arm!...