TEPID TAKE: The Blue Paint is There For a Reason

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We get it, no one understands what goaltender interference in the NHL is anymore. It’s an ever-changing landscape and really depends on who the official is to determine the penalty or lack thereof. Players are mad, coaches are mad, the league is mad, fans are mad, everyone is mad— as is the norm with the NHL these days.

But here’s the thing– and this is just me: why have the crease painted blue if it’s nothing more than to be a contrast to the white ice?? It’s a crazy idea, I know, but maybe– just maybe– the crease can actually stand for something again rather than just looking fancy on the ice.

If the NHL actually makes the crease the no-fly zone when it comes to interference, then it’s a simple fix with a hard-and-fast ruling behind it. Contact within the blue-paint, no matter how small, is interference– end of story. Considering the goalies do go about a bit more to cut off angles and they may feel like they won’t get a call because of that– well, extend the top of the crease by a bit and we’ve got ourselves a simple, pain-free fix.

Goalies should be protected to an extent, much like a quarterback in football. Especially since they’re getting their pads reduced at an alarming rate, the least you could do in exchange for them is to extend the crease so they can go ahead and be able to cut down the angle without fear of getting their legs taken out from under them when trying to make the save. When they’re out of the crease– they aren’t going to be free-game, but they’ll get less of the benefit of the doubt when there is some kind of incidental contact.

There’s always been a weird thing for me that defenders would throw players into their own goalie just to get a cheap interference call– so in that instance treat it like a diving call. If a player pushes the attacking player into their goalie– the attacking player gets called on interference, as does the defender for being going out of his way to try and get the call at the risk of his helpless goalie.

It’s always something with the NHL– players calling out unfair face-offs, the review process taking an inordinate amount of time (and could be fixed by simple technology), some slashes and hooks called while some are not– it’s the status quo that not everyone will be happy at the same time with the NHL. Yet, there’s so many logical simple fixes that could be made that for one reason or another– no one will take the time to listen to…though that seems to be the world we live in these days; why should the NHL be any different??

UND HOCKEY: Jones’s Late Heroics Lift North Dakota in Sweep of Omaha

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Photo from @UNDmhockey

GRAND FORKS, ND– On Saturday, it was a story of two teams desperate for different reasons. North Dakota was desperate to end the series in a sweep to help their Pairwise ranking and to get an extra day of rest. For Omaha, they were desperate to extend the series and hope for the best in a Game Three. It took extra time, but North Dakota got the best of Omaha in overtime to send the 10,351 at Ralph Engelstad Arena home happy and sweep the playoff series and move on to the Frozen Faceoff next weekend in St. Paul.

The energy was up for UND, creating plenty of chances in the first five minutes, but showing nothing for it. UND was getting to the hot spot and tried to spread out the game, but Evan Weninger was equal to the task early on in the game. The first goal cam on a loopy call, as Matt Kierstad’s shot went in off the post, bounced off Weninger’s back-end and into the net to make it 1-0 after a lengthy review. Minutes later, Dixon Bowen made it 2-0 after taking a lovely pass off the boards from Trevor Olson and beating Weninger on the backhand. After the under-five media timeout, Teemu Pulkkinen tipped a Lukas Buchta shot to put Omaha within one. Shots after the first were in UND’s favor by the count of 11-4.

“It’s been a while,” mentioned Bowen of his goalless drought, which happened on November 11th against Miami. “It’s good to get the monkey off my back. It’s playoff hockey and anything can happen.”

Five minutes into the second, right after Hayden Shaw’s penalty expired, Pulkkinen got his second of the night after the Fighting Hawks couldn’t get it out of the zone. After yet another two-goal lead slipped away, UND looked to be playing on their heels a bit in the second with giveaways and a bit of an inability to get the puck deep enough to create many chances for themselves. Though they had some sustained pressured towards the end of second, no goals were to show for it and the period ended tied at 2.

The third period started with a goal review for Omaha that was waved off due to inconclusive evidence, but Omaha officially broke the tie when Jake Randolph scored off a crazy scramble in front that had Cam Johnson flailing all over his goal crease. UND tied the game at the mid-point of the third after Nick Jones tipped home a Colton Poolman blast on the power play. Chances on either side were few and far between, which lead to the game going into overtime.

“When we went down there, we showed a lot of character to get one back,” said Bowen after the game. “We never gave up. We’re glad to get down to the cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul) and check off another box.”

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Nick Jones/Photo by @NHLHistorygirl

The overtime was quick and dirty, as Nick Jones banked a Jordan Kawaguchi shot off Weninger to win it just 53 seconds into the overtime to advance UND to the Frozen Faceoff.

“You see goals like that all the time, just throwing it at the goalie,” said Jones of his game-winner. “I’ve tried that 15, 20 times and just lucky to get a bounce this time. He was playing pretty far out of his net and I just threw it out there hoping for a bounce.”

“He picked a good time to score,” said coach Brad Berry of Jones after the game. “He bring instant experience to your lineup. He was in another program, went back to juniors, as an older player with college experience; he’s a seasoned vet. He does all the little things and his leadership qualities are impeccable.”

It is the 16th-straight year that UND will move on from the first round, but they’ll have to wait to see who their opponent in the second round will be. Both the Miami/St. Cloud and Denver/Colorado College series are going to a third and final game. The standings will be re-seeded after the first round with Miami and Colorado College both seeded lower than UND could cause a little havoc going into the semifinals.

UND HOCKEY: Statement Game for UND in Big Game One Victory

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Photo via @UNDmHockey

GRAND FORKS, ND– With their tournament hopes on the line with this single series, the University of North Dakota and University of Nebraska-Omaha took to the ice in the first of a best-of-three NCHC Quarterfinal match-up on Friday night. With each team splitting the regular season series at two wins apiece, each side knew they were in for a tough series for a chance to make it to the Frozen Faceoff in St. Paul next weekend, as well as having a better chance of getting into the NCAA Tournament. Knowing they needed a solid showing, UND came through in a big way in front of 10,125 at the Ralph Engelstad Arena, taking Game One 4-0 over Omaha.

After a steady first 14 minutes, UND broke the ice as Shane Gersich rifled a wrist shot home from the the top of the circle and thanks to a screen by Colton Poolman, was able to get past Omaha’s Evan Weninger to make it 1-0 Fighting Hawks. A very quiet frame before and after with shots registering in at 11 for UND to Omaha’s six.

With 1:54 left in a carry-over power play, UND made the most of it with many great chances, but Christian Wolanin’s wrister hit the back-bar past Weninger to make it 2-0 for UND. The pace of play stayed consistent with not many good chances either way, but Nick Jones changed that with 7:21 left in the second. Coming off the bench to a loose puck, Jones went wide, then made a little flip of the puck over the Omaha’s defender’s stick and took a diving shot that went past Weninger to make it 3-0. Four minutes later, Omaha’s Joel Messner fumbled a breakout attempt, in which Joel Janatuinen made no mistake to bury it past Weninger to make it 4-0.

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Christian Wolanin/Photo by @NHLHistorygirl

“Our forwards were working so hard on the forecheck, maintaining pressure and making it hard on their defense,” said Christian Wolanin. “Our defenseman did a good job moving it north quickly. All the little things made up for some big goals for us.”

One big chance in the third saw Weninger make his best save of the night with a big cross-crease glove save on Grant Mismash to deny UND a fifth goal. UND outshot Omaha 34-25 in the game. It was Cam Johnson’s third shutout of the season and 12th all-time at UND.

“The key for us was to make them play defense,” mentioned Wolanin of UND’s ability to shut down Omaha’s threats. “If we don’t give them the puck and eliminate time and space, we’re going to have success against them.”

“It’s a good start. That’s the key word: start,” North Dakota coach Brad Berry said. “It’s just one game. I thought our guys did a lot of good things. The biggest thing is focusing on tomorrow. Tomorrow is another day and our lives are on the line still. There’s going to be a business-like mentality there.”

With the win, UND moved to 14th in the Pairwise Rankings, which is heavily used in helping determine the at-large bids for the tournaments. With that win, they move ahead of Omaha and would give themselves a better chance of moving up if they can sweep the series on Saturday.

“You kind of hear about what people are saying, but we’re focused on tomorrow,” defenseman Colton Poolman said of the Pairwise. “All that stuff is in the rear-view for us. We’re just focused on tomorrow.”

Puck drop is 7:07 at The Ralph, as UND looks to move onto the Frozen Faceoff next weekend and then to the National Tournament.

UND HOCKEY: Do-Or-Die Playoff Weekend for Fighting Hawks

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GRAND FORKS, ND– More than just a spot in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff is at stake this weekend between the University of North Dakota and the University of Nebraska-Omaha, as both are fighting for a spot in the National Tournament. With the Pairwise Ranking being the determining factor for a tournament spot– both UND and UNO are on the bubble at 15th and 14th respectively. With both teams facing off against each other in a best-of-three NCHC Quarterfinal match-up; it’s almost a win-and-in scenario for both sides.

“We need this one,” said defenseman Colton Poolman during media availability on Wednesday. “If we lose this one we probably don’t have much of a shot. From here on out it’s a must win situation.”

“You know, they’re a hard team, they’ve got some big bodies,” said defenseman Hayden Shaw of Omaha. “We really used this week to focus on ourselves and how we’re gonna play them. We’ve used the video in the past to see what we need to work on. It all comes from translating from practice into games.”

“They have four lines that play extremely hard,” said head coach Brad Berry. “We know their power play with David Pope is really good there, but they score by committee. We know Tyler Vesel and Pope and Steven Spinner are a very good unit, but they have a lot of good units there.”

This past weekend, UND split a series with the #1 team in the nation in St. Cloud State, losing on Friday, winning on Saturday with both games going to overtime. Those games are something that UND will try to carry over into the weekend.

“We got to bring the same mentality,” mentioned Poolman. “We were fighting for our lives this last weekend and we needed good results. We got it on Saturday. It’s live or die– we got to bring that attitude all weekend.”

“It’s good to look at, especially with last weekend against the #1 team,” said Shaw. “It’s used as a confidence boost into this weekend. Our starts were great and we stayed level-headed most of the game. We’re going to take that weekend and translated it into the playoffs.”

With Omaha, UND will be hoping to get a more consistent result than the previous meetings this year, splitting the season series with both the Fighting Hawks wins coming via shutout. UND has outscored Omaha 14-10 in their four games this season.

“They’re a team that’s grown a lot this year,” Berry said about Omaha. “We feel very familiar with them because we just played them. They have added a lot to their offense. These are going to be hard heavy series.”

“All this boils down to is us and them,” continued Berry. “We need to build on the outcome of the game (Saturday night against St. Cloud). There’s a lot going into this. Two teams neck and neck in the Pairwise and trying to making to the Frozen Faceoff.”

The best-of-three starts Friday with Saturday being Game 2 and if necessary, Sunday hosting Game 3.

 

Golden Homecoming for Maryland’s Haley Skarupa

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Haley Skarupa/ Photo by Jen Conway (@NHLHistorygirl)

The US Women’s National Team has been on a non-stop media tour since winning the country’s first gold medal in 20 years. For defender Haley Skarupa, she says that it started to hit her of this accomplishment on the flight back to the US.

“I was thinking about it from our flight back from Korea,” Skarupa remembered during media availability Saturday night in Annapolis. “It was the first time it started to sink in that, ‘Wow, we’re going back to the United States bringing our country a gold medal.’ You can’t put words to that experience. You’re kinda going non-stop, but it’s good.”

The Rockville, Maryland native played in all five games for the US, though she did not register a point during the tournament, helped the defense for the US keep a co-tournament low of five goals against during the Olympics. Saturday night at the NHL Stadium Series game in Annapolis was a sort of homecoming for Skarupa, who was a Capitals fan when she was growing up.

“It’s awesome to come back here,” said Skarupa. “I was going to come back and watch this game regardless with my family and friends, but it’s awesome to come back here with my teammates and bring home a gold medal and show it to my family and friends.”

One of the last moments of the celebration of the gold medal was the fact that two flags were on the ice were the USA flag and the flag of Maryland. It was brought on the ice by Skarupa’s former teammates from the Washington Pride.

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Kelly Sherman, Haley Skarupa, and Kat Mackey/ Photo by Kush Sidhu

“Two of my best friends (Kelly Sherman and Kat Mackey) literally flew in the day before the game,” Skarupa said. “I didn’t know they brought the flag– it was so dang cool to see that. I brought it down, took a picture with it and it was so crazy to bring a piece of home out there with me. I love the flag it’s great. It’s so much cooler than all the other ones.”

While Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic is without a professional women’s team, the game has been growing in the girls’ ranks. Ranging from U12 to U19, the DC, Maryland, and Virginia (AKA the DMV) area has been starting to grow with the influx of girls picking up the sport– something that may rise from the USA winning gold.

“The sport has come a long way in this area,” explained Skarupa. “It used to be you play boys’ hockey until you’re in high school. Nowadays, there’s so many girls’ teams in the area. At the clinic, there was over 200 girls register from the DMV area. It’s awesome and really exciting. To see how far it’s come since I’ve been playing has been really incredible.”

Despite not playing on a girls’ team until she was in her teens, Skarupa relished the challenge of playing on the boys’ roster. It’s something she said that was fairly invaluable to her development to where she is today.

“I loved playing against the boys,” remember Skarupa. “They challenge you, they’re aggressive, and they’re ruthless. I played until I was 12 against the boys and then my brother and his friends out in the driveway. Getting beat up by the boys really helps you in the long run. Getting to prove the boys wrong is a good feelings.”

The Rockville native doesn’t forget her roots. She said she had numerous people coming up to here this week from people who went to pre-school with her to old teachers from Wooten High School. She also credits former Capital Jeff Halpern (and to an extent his Astro Donuts store) for helping her on her way to development.

“Jeff Halpern helped me throughout my career,” mentioned Skarupa. “We both skated through the same power-skating coach, Wendy Marco and Cold Rush and he became a coach there. Skating with him helped push me, too. He’s a great role model for this area with his success and how he gives back to the community.”

While she is riding high now, Skarupa is also taking the future into account with a clearer head. She said that she’s taking it one day at a time and while there’s not a team there and Capitals’ owner Ted Leonsis hasn’t talked to her about one coming through– she believes the area should be rewarded with a professional team sooner rather than later.

“In the future, women’s pro hockey should expand to this area,” according to Skarupa. “With all the girls that play here and all the interest, there’s a huge opportunity for women’s hockey in this area.”

On the Topic Of the Annapolis Stadium Series Game

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The atmosphere outside the Navy-Marine Corps Stadium was electric. Fans from all over were getting into the spirit of the game, intermingling in the parking lot tailgates, helping each other gets lasting memories of their time at an outdoor event, and some making a weekend out of it like some Toronto fans who watched the Raptors/Wizards Friday and went to the Stadium Series game on Saturday. It was an amazing time.

From the time they stepped onto the ice– especially with the Maple Leafs glowing white jerseys against an off-white ice, the fine faithful of both teams found were bouncing around– probably to stay warm. With the midshipmen “manning the rails” of the aircraft carrier that surrounded the rink, to the fans interacting with the anthems, to the F/A-18F Super Hornets going overhead, the pomp and circumstance matched the excitement.

With the Capitals getting out to an early lead and keeping it throughout helped the fans stay happy in the frigid, windy temperatures, as well as a power outage at the 10-minute mark of the third period. The players seemed unaffected as well– especially with the ice, which many Capitals players were saying was the best home-ice they’ve played on this season.

“It was a blast, it was really fun,” mentioned Matt Niskanen post-game. “The conditions were great. I don’t think the wind was a factor, the ice was great. Even with the lights going out, the fans were still singing and having fun. It was a great experience of everyone. We’ll remember this one.”

But let’s not let the joy go all to our heads on this one.

There’s plenty to clean-up, especially since there were only 29,516 in attendance, which is the lowest of all-time in outdoor games. Could this be the luster finally wearing off?? I don’t think so– many people who had been to outdoor games before were happy enough to be there. Some claim apathy of giving a team extra money for tickets when they haven’t been past the second round in a dog’s age.

Another factor could have been the lack of advertising to the general populous. Many people I’ve talked to around town didn’t even know there was an outdoor game going on. There wasn’t a sign to be seen, wasn’t a promotion to be found in the area– which may not have made it a total sell-out, but could have peaked interest enough for people to talk about it and then maybe buy up the last tickets to be a part of something unique to the area for once.

Then you get to the game, which was covered as well as you’re going to cover it when all the hurdles were in the way. Yet, when NBC, the EXCLUSIVE rights holders to the NHL in the US, cuts away from the game to put it on NBCSN because they need to get to local news and then Saturday Night Live. There’s only three more years left in this deal with the NHL and NBC and maybe– just maybe– the NHL can look at this happening constantly to the NHL on NBC (remember the Senators/Sabres/Kentucky Derby fiasco??) and perhaps either get a better deal elsewhere or write a better contract to make sure they doesn’t keep constantly happening.

And let’s not forget the timing of the game– March. It’s after the trade deadline, right in the sprint to the playoffs and you’re putting two big points up there and hoping Mother Nature cooperates. Luckily– outside of the wind– it did for this one, but the later these outdoor games keep happening, the more risky it gets for things being postponed and such. There was worries that this game would have been pushed to Sunday– which would have been hell for the Caps, who were to fly out on Monday for their last west coast trip.

I understand there’s a lot of consideration that goes into these bids and there’s a lot of gaps that had to be filled. I’m thankful the NHL was able to have a game in Maryland for the first time since November 1997 (RIP Capital Centre), but it could have been so much more around the area if more effort was put in it to promote this game– not just in the area, but around the NHL. Just because you do an advertising blitz on the NHL Network a week out from the game doesn’t mean you did all you could to hype it up.

But to the fans out there– thank you for making the game a success to me. The energy, the reactions, the fact you were out in the elements and enjoying every minute of it was awesome to see and awesome to take part in.

Despite it being the lowest attendant outdoor game since the format started. Despite NBC cutting the National coverage with four minutes to go in the game. Despite the wind, despite the power outage, despite the timing of the game in the year, despite the advertising– or lack thereof. The fans made the atmosphere better for it. The NHL needs to realize this and maybe start listening more attentively to them when they speak up on topics to better the league.

Maryland Hockey History: The Best American Team Ever

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1942-43 Coast Guard Cutters/ Photo via Department of Defense

With the Naval Academy being the background for this weekend’s Stadium Series, it’d be the perfect time to bring up what could be the greatest team in the history of Maryland hockey, as well as the greatest team a Service Academy has produced and one of the greatest amateur teams around– the United States Coast Guard Cutters who were based out of Curtis Bay, Maryland and played their games at Carlin’s Iceland in Baltimore.

Though they only played for two seasons in the Eastern League, they were extremely competitive, even in practice– when they had intra-squad games that some said were brutal massacres. Special ambulances were there for the practices and games for this reason, while also having the 30-piece marching band to follow the team around. The team started a riot in Philadelphia that started on the ice, went into the stands, and made the riot police show up to break it up.

And while they played in an “amateur” hockey league, the roster was anything but. Rangers captain Art Coutler, Boston goalie Frank Brimsek, Chicago defensemen John Mariucci and Manny Cotlow, as well as Detroit’s Alex Motter were amongst the NHLers who enlisted in the Coast Guard and then joined up to play hockey for the team as a stress reliever.

The Cutters won two National Championships in their time around the Eastern League, they defeated the Allan Cup (Canadian Amateur champions) Ottawa Commandos, while also taking on the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings– though they lost 8-3 in that game.

Much like the Orioles at Carlin’s before them, the Cutters were loved by the Baltimore crowd, but loathed by everyone else. Their all-out, take-no-prisoner style was endearing to some, but it’s something you didn’t want to play against or see have played against your team. With all the talent, they were hard-pressed to be outworked, out-disciplined, or outplayed on every night.

However, with this team being the focus during war time, the higher-ups in the academy didn’t take too kindly to others sacrificing plenty overseas while this team was still playing and not being deployed like the other servicemen. After two seasons– one of which was ended 11 games into the season– the team was broken up due to the need for reinforcements during the end of World War II.

While this team is often forgotten due to time and circumstances, their greatness is something that should be remembered. Especially with this game not only being played at the Naval Academy, but also since the Olympics were just held– this team could be the greatest American team compiled of their era.

For more on this– check out the long-read from the Coast Guard Hockey Organization, as well as the story from Stan Fischler when he was with The Hockey News.

Maryland Hockey History: Baltimore Failed NHL Expansion, WHA Completion

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Things could have been a lot different for the history of hockey in Maryland if you were to believe press clippings around the first rounds of expansion in the NHL. It would have definitely changed the way things are now and who knows if it the Washington Capitals would even be in the league if Baltimore would have gotten the expansion bid in 1967 or 1970.

During early expansion, Baltimore had put a bid in behind the strength of their new Civic Center, which was able to expand up to 12,700 seats for hockey– a size that was 200 seats more than the smallest arena at the time in Detroit. The biggest argument from Jake Embry– President of the Baltimore Clippers of the AHL and spokesperson for Baltimore’s 1967 NHL bid– was that Baltimore was a big league city in other sports and he felt hockey should be big league, too.

To that point, the Clippers in the AHL had been to the playoffs three times in five years and only got past the first round twice. They were brought into the Civic Center as an AHL expansion team in 1962 after the first incarnation of the Clippers played in the Eastern League out of the ashes of the Coast Guard Cutters. When Carlin’s Iceland burnt down in 1956, the Clippers moved to Charlotte with 12 games left in the 1955-56 season.

The one issue is that while the Civic Center could have expanded to 12,700, it was normally at 11,200 for hockey and even then they couldn’t fill half the arena over average with the Clippers. Embry’s idea that maybe a top league would bring more butts to the seats in the new arena, which is why he put the bid in on top of the idea that Baltimore is a big-league city. The AHL felt threatened enough to create an indemnification plan for not only Baltimore– but for Buffalo and Pittsburgh, who were also in the first expansion bids.

Obviously, Baltimore didn’t get into that first round of expansion, but they were still in the running for the next round. In fact, they were originally supposed to join Vancouver as the other team in the 1970 expansion, as Clarence Campbell felt the market was valuable. However, thanks to some stalls along the way leading up to the next round of expansion and a stronger proposal from the Buffalo area– Baltimore had to stick with the AHL for the time being.

There was a time where “pro” hockey did come to the Civic Center. In the middle of the 1974-75 season, the Michigan Stags of the WHA couldn’t afford to play there anymore and moved to Baltimore. That year was also the first for the Capitals and with the Capitals doing that badly, maybe the idea was to perhaps steal some entertainment dollars from Landover and put into Baltimore. Of course, this wasn’t without hurdles– as Embry said that he had the exclusivity rights to the Civic Center and didn’t want the WHA to use the building– which tried at first at the end of 1973-74 season with the Jersey Knights. Yet, WHA president Dennis Murphy was able to get a lease with the Civic Center management and play out the rest of the 1974-75 season (all 17 games) in Baltimore as the Baltimore Blades, while the Clippers were forced to disband.

Since local ownership was not able to found for the Blades to continue, they folded up in May of 1975 and Baltimore hockey went into a bit of a tailspin with the Clippers coming back in the AHL, the Southern League, then the Eastern League before folding completely, leading the way for the Skipjacks to start up in 1981.

While the end results didn’t happen for Baltimore in the NHL or WHA, there’s some that still may believe that if they were given the chance– they would have been able to shine a little more. However, some people don’t get over the minor league doldrums and shun a product just because. Who knows what could have happened if Baltimore had won the expansion bids in either 1967 or 1970– they could have succeeded and then the Capitals wouldn’t be around or they could have tanked and been on the move two years after their incarnation– thoroughly killing the area because of lack of support and killing the Capitals hopes.

The world will never know.

Maryland Hockey History Week: First College Game, First Artificial Ice, First Pro Team

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Johns Hopkins University hockey team, 1896/ Photo from Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries

Few will believe that the first college hockey game happened in Maryland. Even more will cock an eyebrow when they’re told that Johns Hopkins University was involved in the first college game, especially since they’ve never had anything higher than a club team in ice hockey. Yet, on that fateful February 1st in 1896, Johns Hopkins played Yale University to a 2-2 draw. It should be noted that Yale disputes this, saying that the first game was February 14th and they beat Hopkins thanks to Malcolm Chase’s two goals– but what do you expect from those Yaleies?? Below, as you can see, was printed on February 3rd, 1896.

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Regardless, the first game was played at the North Avenue Ice Palace in Baltimore, in a place which is now a vacant parking lot between Charles and St. Paul Streets in Baltimore. The rink itself was a marvel of then-modern technology being the first artificial ice surface in the US. The rink opened December 26th, 1894 with the playing surface being 250 feet long and only 55 feet wide. This was also in a day where there were seven players on the ice, including the goalie. Below is a brief detail of how it was all set-up.

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During that time, while the pro game hadn’t hit that area as of yet, there were plenty of athletic clubs in the area who had teams that played regularly, almost what rec-league would be considered today– but with more skill. With areas like Washington, DC and New York getting into it during the early days, the sport grew very quickly in popularity. Baltimore-area stores for a time couldn’t keep equipment on the shelves due to the people wanting to try it out. Yet, with World War I happening, coupled with the depression– the sport lost it’s popularity in Baltimore, with the Johns Hopkins team shuttering down around 1898 due to a variety of issues with travel and the school support. The North Avenue Ice Palace closing down in 1932, despite not holding a hockey game since 1898 and then having the ice machinery taken out in 1899.

It wasn’t until Carlin’s Iceland was built in 1932 that Baltimore got another team they could take pride in, the Baltimore Orioles. The oriole name has been and still is held by a lot of Baltimore teams (mostly baseball) due to it being the state bird, as well as the bird having the wings that resemble Lord Baltimore’s Coat-of-Arms. The hockey Orioles were a member of the Tri-State League and the Eastern League, spanning a decade from 1932 until they closed up shop in 1942. Names like Vince Papike, Vern Buckles, Norm Calladine (when on to play with the Boston Bruins), and Fred Hunt were stars for these Orioles teams. The Orioles went on to win the 1939-40 Eastern League title, while also garnering a couple Mayor Cups, an in-season tournament between teams.

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The 1938 Baltimore Orioles hockey club/Photo from Baltimore Sun archives

The fans took to the Orioles, as well– many of them going too far at times. Many times, the police had to come in to break up the fights in the stands, which spilled onto the ice. Fans would also hurl objects onto the ice to calls and players they objected to, which caused the Baltimore players to love their fans, with the rest of the league despising them. Essentially– they were then what Philadelphia fans are today.

High school hockey also boomed during this time, with many of the local schools taking up the game and playing at Carlin’s. Only 3,000 seats were in the building, but with hockey and figure skating show being put on, the place was packed each and every time. However, the Orioles disbanded after the 1941-42 season due to World War II, while Carlin’s Iceland then housed the first incarnation of the Baltimore Clippers before it burned to the ground in 1952.

On the Topic Of the NHL/Olympics Squabble

/ scottywazz / 4 Comments

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First– I agree with everything Gary Bettman says about the Olympics and despite the possible money that could come from any kind of marketing of the NHL in China– it may not be worth it.

….thanks for reading….

Okay, there’s more to it, but needed to get that opinion out there.

Bettman, who said that he’s not sure that the NHL will go to the 2022 Games because it’s disrupting to the league, was at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference when he took this stand/had this take. And in all honesty– why would the NHL want to go back if the cost is wholly on the shoulders of the league for things they can’t market after the fact– like the Golden Goal by Sidney Crosby in Vancouver.

More over, why would the IIHF want the NHL to be there when you see these Games, see who’s had a shocking run at it, and see the potential growth across the world from non-NHL players who are taking part of this and giving hope to their nations?? We know why the IIHF wants the NHL to be there, the same as the IOC– money. All the money. But honestly, while this hockey hasn’t been up to snuff like the last 20 years has been since the NHL took over the Olympics– it’s the way that it should be for the time being.

If we’re not going to play these as the World Juniors every four years, why not make the Olympics as NHL-free as possible?? You can debate that the best players in the world should be at the biggest tournament in the world– but there’s many people who skip out on the yearly World Championships after the season because they’re worn out or because they’re still playing in the NHL. They don’t seem to be too concerned with the WORLD HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIPS when they’re still in the playoffs…but whatever.

Not only that, but you don’t think more teams will stress the idea of a National team playing the entire season leading up to the Olympics like they did in the old days?? Canada was big on that, same with Russia, the US had their team going around– it was a good thing for these guys to play in exhibitions around their countries and partake in pre-Olympic tournaments to tune up. Hell, take the lead from the Women’s teams who take off a year from the pros to train with their teammates in preparation.

Hockey fans have been pampered with the best players in the world playing in the Olympics and God love them for actually being this passionate over it. But you know what, maybe it’s time for a change to see how the people adapt to life without the NHLers there. If you not want to watch the NHL in protest and watch only Olympic hockey– you’re right to do so, but why not both?? Why does hockey have to be exclusive to one platform and not all the platforms?? It makes no sense to me, but not a lot makes sense to me anymore.

Good on the NHL for not going, good for the Nations to do without the NHLers and create more stories and narratives, and good on fans for watching this hockey that is out of the ordinary of the caliber they’re used to at the Olympics for the past two decades.

Maybe it’s time to get used to that, as well.