Hockey Fans

[BamaWade]

6 hours ago, mcanadiens said:

While it is very difficult, I'll give your Bruin fandom a pass for the time being.

I understand.  I was hesitant to mention it given the logo as your avatar, and how we've been in several threads together.  No worries - it's not like we have any bragging rights whatsoever over the Habs right now, or in the last 100 years   We can agree to unite on the common interest the great sport of hockey alone, and golf, of course.

6 hours ago, mcanadiens said:

There have been a couple of different Birmingham Bulls clubs over the years, but the most infamous one was the World Hockey Association entry in the late 70's.

Given your knowledge on the subject, you may know, but Gordie Howe scored his 1,000th career goal vs. the '77 Bulls in Birmingham (BJCC arena).  I was only 2 at the time, but there's a plaque at the BJCC commemorating it, which I always read while in the ticket line.

6 hours ago, mcanadiens said:

I do remember seeing the ECHL Bulls once or twice up here in Dayton to play the Bombers. Looking at that roster I remember the names Jerome Bechard, Kevin Kerr and Craig Charron. Charron would go on to play here in Dayton for a year or two.

I definitely remember playing the Bombers.  We probably went to 100+ games over the years - I can still recall the Dayton jerseys.  In fact, re: OH, our next-level affiliate for a while was Cincinnati.

Yep - Jerome Bechard was our most popular player, more for his grit and pugilistic skills than scoring, though he had some game and was a great leader...and was awesome with the fans and the city.  During the later years, he became a player-coach for the Bulls.  I remember Charron...not so much Kerr at the moment.  As a B's fan, it is cool, though, that former Bruin Tim Thomas had a short stint with the Bulls.  I could've sworn Mike Smith did, too, but it doesn't seem to be backed up in the old stats and rosters I find.  I imagine I have him confused with another goalie that went on to play for Tampa ~10+ years back...not sure who that'd be.

6 hours ago, mcanadiens said:

Living in the middle of Alabama does put you a pretty good distance from much of anything. It's a long ways north, but Univ. of Alabama Huntsville does play Division I college hockey in the WCHA. That's the same loop my alma mater Bowling Green plays in.

UAH - Go Chargers!!!  I actually almost played there.  About 90 minutes north of my hometown.  I played in what little rec leagues I could get into down here, both ice and roller, and did really well (and believe it or not we had some decent competition on some years), so I took a visit to UAH and met with Coach Ross.  That woulda been fall/winter 1992.  My problem:  I was 5'10" 140.  He said he'd love to have me but I needed 25lbs before the next fall season or no-go.  I tried like hell with supplements, protein & weight work, but topped out around 150, so I gave up on that dream and went to UofA instead as a drummer.  Oh well.

Take care,

BamaWade

[mcanadiens]

25 minutes ago, BamaWade said:

UAH - Go Chargers!!!  I actually almost played there.  About 90 minutes north of my hometown.  I played in what little rec leagues I could get into down here, both ice and roller, and did really well (and believe it or not we had some decent competition on some years), so I took a visit to UAH and met with Coach Ross.  That woulda been fall/winter 1992.  My problem:  I was 5'10" 140.  He said he'd love to have me but I needed 25lbs before the next fall season or no-go.  I tried like hell with supplements, protein & weight work, but topped out around 150, so I gave up on that dream and went to UofA instead as a drummer.  Oh well.

So an actual player. Yeah, its tough to turn any coach's head at that kind of weight. UAH must have been fairly early in their program (at least at the Div. I level) at that point to. 

I was 12 or so before I even discovered hockey (again the Bombers) and didn't learn to skate until is was 15. Besides that I'm about as athletic as a wet sock, so never played anything other than drop-in type stuff. There was a train-wreck of a rec league I played in at Bowling Green. We were the scraps left over and it showed.

If ever manage to curtail my over-fondness for beer and drop about 30 lbs, I might give drop-in another go.

[mcanadiens]

36 minutes ago, BamaWade said:

 As a B's fan, it is cool, though, that former Bruin Tim Thomas had a short stint with the Bulls.  I could've sworn Mike Smith did, too, but it doesn't seem to be backed up in the old stats and rosters I find.  I imagine I have him confused with another goalie that went on to play for Tampa ~10+ years back...not sure who that'd be.

Actually, I was just looking back through the old Bulls goalies and there are a bunch of familiar names. Early on you had Doug Dadswell and Sandy Galluppo. Both those guys played for the Cyclones and Sandy had a stint with Dayton before Birmingham. You were one of the many, many stops for old Kalamazoo goalie Mike Torchia, a Michelin man-looking guy that I saw play the Cyclones many times.

Last but certainly not least was my old BG buddy Shawn Timm. He played a miserable 15 minutes in goal for the Bulls after his senior season with the Falcons. Gave up three goals and became an investment banker.

Great memories.

[BamaWade]

7 hours ago, mcanadiens said:

Actually, I was just looking back through the old Bulls goalies and there are a bunch of familiar names. Early on you had Doug Dadswell and Sandy Galluppo. Both those guys played for the Cyclones and Sandy had a stint with Dayton before Birmingham. You were one of the many, many stops for old Kalamazoo goalie Mike Torchia, a Michelin man-looking guy that I saw play the Cyclones many times.

Last but certainly not least was my old BG buddy Shawn Timm. He played a miserable 15 minutes in goal for the Bulls after his senior season with the Falcons. Gave up three goals and became an investment banker.

Great memories.

Man this is making me miss the 90s ECHL Bulls.  Our attendance was in the top few of the league (seems like Greenville, or the original team in the NC/SC area(?) was #1 by a long shot, then we were in the next few), so support was good.  On the couple fill-it-up days we had per season, we got almost to capacity (~15,700ish), though normal attendance with ~6-8k on weekends and ~3-4k on weekdays...still not bad for ECHL.  As soon as I read about the ownership changeover and the group behind it (and their ominous history), I had a terrible feeling.  Too bad it came to quick fruition.

Alabama got some other small pro team years later at our local community complex (where UofA club team plays)...the Alabama Slammers, I think.  I went one time.  Terrible, terrible hockey, unfortunately.  And somehow, the ticket prices were higher than the ECHL Bulls for a much lower-league team in a small venue.  Oh well.

Looking forward to the season this year.  Have your guys take it easy on us, how 'bout it?   I always hated playing the Habs in the playoffs (for obvious reasons)...now I can only hope it happens this year.  No reason for both our teams to be on the outside looking in.

[mcanadiens]

On 8/26/2016 at 3:59 PM, BamaWade said:

Looking forward to the season this year.  Have your guys take it easy on us, how 'bout it?   I always hated playing the Habs in the playoffs (for obvious reasons)...now I can only hope it happens this year.  No reason for both our teams to be on the outside looking in.

The Habs better not be taking it easy on anyone. Some people are going to be looking for new jobs if they do.

Hopefully, Price comes back 100% and Weber is able to have a big impact. Kirk Muller is coming back to coach and maybe that can get the power play back to something decent.

[mcanadiens]

[BamaWade]

Hara Arena?  The prior home of the Dayton Bombers during the 90s ECHL?  Never been there, just went with a little deductive logic given the thread and your locale.

There was an article here recently about the original owner of the Birmingham Bulls applying to bring another pro team to the area (BHM suburbs) under the Birmingham Bulls name.  Wouldn't be ECHL, and not at the 15.000+ seat BJCC, but at a local recreational rink/civic complex that would require renovation (and expansion to 4,000+ seats).  It's where the UofA club team plays now.  He was a fantastic owner -- the Bulls only crashed when they were bought by idiots.  

As I mentioned above, we had a WHL2 team here ~15 years ago...the Alabama Slammers.  Slow, abysmal hockey.  Like paying to watch a beer league.  This league is the Southern Professional Hockey League.  Looks like that's where Huntsville's pro team plays.  Also looks like a few of the SPHL teams came from the WHL2 when it folded.

But I was discouraged by a quote in that article:  "Having the Bulls back in Birmingham would be awesome, having a lot of exciting hockey fights for everybody to watch and it would be a good time."    

So. we'll see about the quality...hopeful for something decent.  But nothing's going to match the atmosphere and reasonably decent hockey of the ECHL Bulls @ BJCC.  

BamaWade

Edited March 2, 2017 by BamaWade

[mcanadiens]

8 minutes ago, BamaWade said:

Hara Arena?  The prior home of the Dayton Bombers during the 90s ECHL?  Never been there, just went with a little deductive logic given the thread and your locale.

Yep. That was right before they closed the place down. 

A couple of days ago somebody asked why I've been in such a mood lately. I was thinking about it and had trouble coming up with a good reason. Health is good. Family is ok. Just got by a major professional hurdle. Maybe it's just the lack of hockey. 

Winter, even as mild as this one has been, sucks without hockey.

 

[fever]

Islanders fan from inception, 72

[dennyjones]

Since we are reviving an old thread,  I live in the home town of Ken Morrow and Tim Thomas.    I can actually say I've played against Tim Thomas wwwwaaaayyy back in the day when he was in high school.    I'm a Red Wings fan but would rather play than watch.  I have found a meetup group that plays street hockey and it is fun but not like flying down the ice.    Age has a way of catching up to ya..

[fever]

Just now, dennyjones said:

Since we are reviving an old thread,  I live in the home town of Ken Morrow and Tim Thomas.    I can actually say I've played against Tim Thomas wwwwaaaayyy back in the day when he was in high school.    I'm a Red Wings fan but would rather play than watch.  I have found a meetup group that plays street hockey and it is fun but not like flying down the ice.    Age has a way of catching up to ya..

Timmy T is the biggest goalie gear slut ever. Age is only a number, I play more hockey now @ 58 than I ever did as a kid.

[BamaWade]

1 hour ago, fever said:

Age is only a number, I play more hockey now @ 58 than I ever did as a kid.

Very cool.  That's encouraging, because I'm 43 and looking to get back into rec-league.  I finally got rolling on the equipment purchases (got my Tacks in, bake-fit, sharpened and somewhat broke-in last week!).  But I'm stringing the other purchases out a bit.  I'd like to have it all and jump in by start of spring-league, but honestly, it's been a while.  I'd probably be best served to focus on my skating and maybe just do a little stick-n-puck until Fall 2019.  Good to know I still have a potential 15+ years of playing in front of me...that's what I'm going to tell the wife when I mention your post.

[fever]

Just now, BamaWade said:

Very cool.  That's encouraging, because I'm 43 and looking to get back into rec-league.  I finally got rolling on the equipment purchases (got my Tacks in, bake-fit, sharpened and somewhat broke-in last week!).  But I'm stringing the other purchases out a bit.  I'd like to have it all and jump in by start of spring-league, but honestly, it's been a while.  I'd probably be best served to focus on my skating and maybe just do a little stick-n-puck until Fall 2019.  Good to know I still have a potential 15+ years of playing in front of me...that's what I'm going to tell the wife when I mention your post.

It sounds like a good plan you have there, get use to you edges again and use to stickhandling before jumping into league play. I have been married for 33 yrs so I think I have an idea as to you wife's reaction. First she will look at you like you just spouted two new heads. Second she will say something like " Are you for real? are you crazy? ( that's what I got when I told my wife I was going to start playing again @50 ) you are going to listen to some crazy old Canuck about hockey from a golf BB. Third, she turns away from you, shaking her head and muttering something like "will he ever grow up". But once she sees that you are having fun and not getting hurt she will come around, mine did. It's good to know there is Hockey in Bama. Life is short, just do it. Best of luck Wade, I hope it all works out for you.

[fever]

Anyone remember this team (NHL)

[mcanadiens]

20 hours ago, fever said:

Anyone remember this team (NHL)

Their first season was the year I was born, 1977.

The NHL Barons did effectively end hockey in Cleveland for 14 years before the IHL's Lumberjacks moved from Muskegon.

The AHL version of the Cleveland Barons had a 35 year run that ended in 1972.

[DrMJG]

University of Wisconsin-Madison, both men and women...oh, you mean pros!

[mcanadiens]

9 hours ago, DrMJG said:

University of Wisconsin-Madison, both men and women...oh, you mean pros!

No. Not necessarily.

I'm a Bowling Green grad and I miss college hockey even though it wasn't their better years when I went there. Jerry had just left for BC a few years before. I liked Buddy Powers but the recruiting went down the tubes.

None the less, we made every home game and did most of the shorter trips in the old CCHA. Ohio State, TTUN, Sparty, Western Michigan. We even chased out to Ferris State once.

 

[commishbob]

I guess I can bump this. I've been a NY Rangers fan since my father took me to my first game in 1960 at the OLD Madison Square Garden.  Hasn't been a good year to be me...went to see them in NYC in October and in Dallas in March. Results...1 goal and 2 losses.

 

This pic was in a Jersey deli I visited last month.  🙄