Hockey – The Lighter Side

As the NHL season heats up, YouTuber tweiss229 brings us a hilarious piece of hockey history (courtesy of a local secondhand store): the full version of 80s classic short “Hockey: The Lighter Side.” It’s very, very silly, and well worth a watch.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Helmet-cam Hockey: The Future Is Awesome

Here’s an amazing hockey video we stumbled across, of an amateur adult league hockey game between the Division 1 Thrashers and Ice Dogs. What’s so incredible about it is that the video is shot entirely from the point of view of one of the players, from a camera mounted on his helmet, making watching the video almost like being there.
It’s not hard to imagine this being incorporated into NHL broadcasts in future. The video was shot with the GoPro camera, a body-mountable consumer-level HD video camera for sports, which is available to anyone for under $300. It’s not chump change, but for a pro team like the Canucks, Leafs, or Flames, who sell tickets for several times that, putting one of these cameras into a helmet (once it gets small enough, of course) seems like an inevitability.

EA Sports Releases Details on NHL 12 for 360, PS3

According to EA Sports, it’s the world’s “Premier Hockey Video Game.” If you ask gamers, though, it’s more like the only one—main competitor 2K Sports only released the current version of their game, the Ryan Kesler-bedecked NHL 2K11 for iPhone and Wii. By steering clear of the PS3 and Xbox 360, they hope to gain enough time to make NHL 2K12 a clear improvement on EA’s NHL 12, but only time will tell.

Meanwhile, NHL 12‘s September release date creeps nearer, and EA has begun to release a trickle of information. Primary improvements to the game center around making it even more indistinguishable from watching a live game on TV: in addition to ever-more-complex player models and realistic crowds, the physics engine has been beefed up with what EA calls their “Full Contact Physics Engine.” No more awkward action figures gliding eerily across the ice as in the PS2 days; these players shift their weight, collide with each other, and move differently based on their size. The game’s Be a Pro mode has also been improved.
New to the game are highly improved dynamic goalies: players can “knock the net off and make contact with goalies, knocking them down or out of position, as they crash the crease,” and most importantly, EA promises that gamers will now be able to drop their goalie’s gloves and take a swing at players they don’t much care for.
Beyond EA’s press release and screenshots, little information is available about the game. It remains to be seen whether updated rosters, a better physics engine, and the improved Be a Pro mode are worth $70, though.
NHL 12 comes out in September for all major gaming consoles, and will most likely run hockey fans $59.99 in the US and $69.99 in Canada.

Tampa Bay Lightning tie it up against Boston Bruins

Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals made for an interesting game at St Pete Times Forum, where the Tampa Bay Lightning fought their way back against the Boston Bruin’s early 3-0 lead.
tampabaylightningThe first period saw a round of unassisted goals by the Bruins, with Patrice Bergeron neatly tucking the first goal into the left side of the net. Michael Ryder followed this up a few minutes later. Bergeron went for another as he scored while the Bruins were short handed.
During the second period the Lightning fought back, scoring three goals of their own. Despite a bit of a fumble, Teddy Purcell managed to get Tampa’s first goal with a backhand to the far side of the net. Just over a minute later he managed to do it again with a wrist shot. Sean Bergenheim tied it up, with a goal that now puts him in the lead for league playoff goals. This made it three goals for the Lightning within a span of four minutes, catching them up with the Bruins.
Simon Gagne put the Lightning ahead in the third period, and had the opportunity to score a second goal. Instead he sent the puck to Martin St Louis, who scored on an empty net after the Bruins had pulled their goalie.
The Tampa Bay Lightning won it 5-3.
The Eastern Conference Finals are now tied 2-2. Game 5 takes place tonight at Boston’s TD Garden. Puck drops at 8 pm EST.

’94 Vancouver Canucks Reminisce

mcleanvancouvercanucksIt seems appropriate that as the Vancouver Canucks make their run for the Stanley Cup – they haven’t gotten this far since 1994 – that those same 1994 teammates are getting together for a trip down memory lane.

The team that made it to the 1994 Stanley Cup Final will be having a reunion tomorrow at the River Rock Casino in Richmond. From 2 pm to 5 pm the ’94 Canucks will be in the lobby area signing autographs and reminiscing about their own run for the cup. This is a free all ages event that includes prizes and photographs.

You’ll have the chance to meet Kirk McLean, Murray Craven, Dana Murzyn, Jeff Brown, Marty Gelinas and Gerald Diduck!

The current Vancouver Canucks play in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final against the San Jose Sharks today at 12 pm PDT in San Jose.

'94 Vancouver Canucks Reminisce

mcleanvancouvercanucksIt seems appropriate that as the Vancouver Canucks make their run for the Stanley Cup – they haven’t gotten this far since 1994 – that those same 1994 teammates are getting together for a trip down memory lane.
The team that made it to the 1994 Stanley Cup Final will be having a reunion tomorrow at the River Rock Casino in Richmond. From 2 pm to 5 pm the ’94 Canucks will be in the lobby area signing autographs and reminiscing about their own run for the cup. This is a free all ages event that includes prizes and photographs.
You’ll have the chance to meet Kirk McLean, Murray Craven, Dana Murzyn, Jeff Brown, Marty Gelinas and Gerald Diduck!
The current Vancouver Canucks play in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final against the San Jose Sharks today at 12 pm PDT in San Jose.