God Bless Swoop

Rest in peace Cecil "Swoop" Luckern. It was fitting to learn of Cecil's passing tonight as Bishop Brady and Concord High were squaring off at the Doug. He was a legend of NH high school hockey. Just two weeks ago he made the trip to White's Park to watch the Black Ice tournament, the last hockey games he would ever watch. God bless you Swoop; you will be missed.

All Even! Blue Takes Game Four

Led by the superb play of Tom "Philby" Philbrick and solid goaltending by Kenny "Rebel Without a Rebound" Dean, Blue evened the series much to the delight of the crowd at the sold out "Doug". "Philby",fresh off of a Black Ice Championship, has not let off the gas since his Hobey Stick win at the storied White's Park pond. Philby led the Blue attack with five of his team's eight goals. Coach "Stuffy" Stevenson made some adjustments early in the game after Dunc "Coach" Walsh failed to generate any offense on a line with Tilly and Clint. "I need players who can get me the puck", complained Walsh. Dave "Tilly" Tillotson told Stevenson, "I need players who can get me the puck". Clint "Eastwood" Casavaugh told Stevenson, "I need linemates who can finish". That's when "Stuffy" had enough and made the move to switch Philby to the first line and Dunc to the second line. The move paid dividends immediately. Philby went on a goal scoring tear and Dunc lit the lamp as well. "He's a brilliant coach", said George "Dumpin" Chase. "Stuffy knows what buttons to push", explained Chris "Brownie" Brown. "He knows when to say yes and when to say no", said Philby. "Well, not always", added Jim "Heathy" Heath.
Superb goaltending by Kenny "Rebel Without a Rebound" Dean halted the Green attack even though Green reunited the old Capitol City Diner squad of "Bergs", "BTO" and "the Cummy Brothers". "The Diner" is no longer serving after 9 p.m.", lamented Andy "BTO" Bachmann. Dean's play earned him second star honors while Philby was given the first star and Dave "Motor" Carlson the third star. The series has really heated up which is no surprise to anyone who has watched this rivalry. "It's old time hockey, like Eddie Shore", explained Tom "Shemp" Champagne. "The guys are putting on the foil". Tempers flared and elbows got up which is what fans have come to expect of this rivalry. It is often referred to as "the greatest rivalry in sports".

A survey has been completed for the Black Ice Pond Hockey Committee in which players were asked about what "improvements" could be made to further improve the tournament. The committee reviewed the findings and published the "Ten Best Suggestions". They are as follows:
10. A refrigeration system installed in the pond to counter global warming.
9. Steve Arndt-style benches with extra padding for bruised asses (Commish & Joe's idea).
8. Jumbotron scoreboard suspended from a hovering helicopter.
7. Sushi served at Cimmo's concession tent along with WASSABI (also good for bruised asses).
6. Ice girls to shovel the rinks between games (see photo).
5. Goalie Cam so fans can enjoy the brilliant goaltending of Peter Tufts.
4. A VIP list for the Black Ice RV (a.k.a Studio 54) and Kent Carlson to work the door.
3a. A seperate women's locker room (not Ivana's idea).
3b. Window's in the women's locker room (Philby's idea).
2. Camera's installed in the women's porta-potty with real-time video on the jumbotron (#8).
1. Concord Montior coverage (or lack of) replaced by The Pucking Files.

Green Takes Game 3

In a tale of two Harrys, Green held on to beat rival Blue and take the series lead. Things looked rather dire for Blue when Tom "Shemp" Champagne blasted a slap shot right through Tom Harrison's five hole to give Green a 6-1 lead. Coach John "Stuffy" Stevenson had seen enough. He pulled Harrison and replaced him with "Harry" and the move almost paid off. Harry shut down the Green attack for almost two full periods as Blue climbed back into the game. Led by the line of Luker, Palisi and Rudz, Blue scored four unanswered goals to close the gap to within one. With less than five minutes to go, Green winger Clint "Eastwood" Casavaugh scored his second of the contest to give Green a two goal lead and some breathing room. Andy "Of Mayberry" Dorhety made some key saves to halt the Blue comeback. Dorhety's efforts earned him first star of the game honors along with Casavaugh who was given the second star and Jim "Cummy" Commerford who also had a pair was given the third star.
Blue defenseman Joe "Joe" Farrelly showed his metal by playing in the contest with a severely bruised buttocks. Farrelly refused to sit out the game because "so much is at stake.

Team trainer Tom "T-bone" Mailhot loaded "Joe" up with pain meds and Bud Light. Farrelly also wore an extra padded girdle that gave him a "beautiful girlish figure". The veteran defender was disorientated all game and wanted to know if they beat Hanover. Farrelly injured his ass in the Black Ice Pond Hockey Championships last sunday. He helped the Budmen capture the Hobey Stick in the 35A division.

Many braved the cold weather to watch the final day of the tournament unfold. On hand for the event was Bishop Brady legend Cecil "Swoop" Luckern and Bob "Barney Rubble" Norton pictured here with Joe "What the F..." Val, Mike "Hipshake" Farrelly and Tom "Shemp" Champagne.

The other Hobey Stick winners were Jack Edward's Teeth (Open Division); Turkey Pond Flyers (pictured below)(+50 Division); 180 Proof (35B Division); The Newts (Women's Division); and Queen City Kings (Rec.Division). A reception for the winning teams will be held at The Green Martini on saturday night.

Black Ice Comeback!

Thanks to an arctic blast that finally arrived on saturday night and some major rescheduling by Brownie & Co. the 2012 Black Ice Pond Hockey Championship overcame a slushy start and finished strong. Hats off once again to Chris "Brownie" Brown who was able save the Good Ship Black Ice and avoid a "Duke of Lancaster" type disaster. All the hard work from Brownie and his army of volunteers (many Thursday Nighters) turned the event into a success.

Brownie believed that "THE SHOW MUST GO ON" and the Capitol City was better because of it.
A stellar fireworks show lit up the sky on friday night much to the delight of the fans.

Cimmo kept the people fed, Black Ice merchandise was flying off the shelves all weekend and games were played (accompanied by the great sound of Brian "Smitty" Smith's commentary) before noon on friday and saturday as we waited for Mother Nature to bring us some cold weather. When it finally arrived late saturday night, the crew did a fantastic job of getting the ice ready for a full day of great hockey on Sunday.

There were several repeat champions as well as some new Hobey Stick winners. The next edition of the files will cover the biggest winners and losers of this year's tournament. The NAHL was proud of the Thursday Night stars who helped make the event a success.

The fun isn't over though; This thursday at "the Doug" is game 3 of the NAHL finals between long time rivals Blue and Green. Remember fans, there are shuttle buses leaving the Barley House and Cheers starting two hours before game time. The game is sold out! It should be good one!

Oh Crap!

Hi boys and girls! Do you know how to catch a polar bear? Well, Mr. Rooter is going to tell you how. You need a drill and a can of peas. You drill a hole in the ice and then you line the edge of the hole with the peas. When the polar bear comes to take a pea.......YOU KICK HIM IN THE ICEHOLE!
Well that's our lesson for today boys and girls.

Hi boys and girls and fans of Black Ice Pond Hockey. It's your old friend Mr. Polar Bear. Here's my little tip about Mother Nature. She sure can ef up your well laid plans! Now, I'm going git me some plumber's crack!

Game On! Black Ice 2 Begins Friday

Black Ice officials made the call today and it's all systems go. The second annual Black Ice Pond Hockey Championships begin this friday morning at 9 a.m. The opening ceremony has been moved ahead one hour in case the prediction for a warm afternoon comes to fruition. There is a possible stoppage around mid day depending on temperatures and ice conditions and then games may resume again closer towards evening. It will be a game time decision. Stay tuned for any scheduling changes. Cold weather is predicted to return friday night and the rest of the weekend looks great for ice. One possible change on friday afternoon if warm weather thaws things out is fan mud wrestling.

Without much snow cover, warm temperatures friday could be ideal for fans to get down and dirty! Don't forget friday night's fireworks show immediately following the last hockey game of the evening. The Black Ice Ale will be flowing in downtown Concord all weekend long. It's going to be a great weekend for sure.

Blue Takes Game One!

Game one of the NAHL finals did not live up to the hype that has followed this storied rivalry all season long. Blue got out to an early two goal lead and never let off. It was a convincing road victory for the Blue squad and Green fans made their way to the exits before the final horn. Blue got some decent goaltending by Kenny "Don't Ya Love Em Madly" Bradley who relied on his glove and goal posts. It may have been a different story if Green hadn't of spent so much time hanging out at "The Old Cross Bar" where Bradley was serving up ping cocktails. Green winger Mark Rudz came within one goal post of tying Dave "Tilly" Tillotson's record of hitting iron five times in one game. Tilly however had no problem finding the twine on this night as his line of "TC" Carroll and "Commish" Stewart lit the lamp with frequency. "The Commish" was given the game's first star for scoring the game winner while Bradley split the second star award with the "Post Twins". The third star went to George "Dumpin" Chase for his penalty shot. Chase was hacked down by Mike "Hipshake" Farrelly while breaking in on Kenny "Rebel Without a Save" Dean. Referee Phil Lacasse awarded "Dumpin" a penalty shot. Chase, whose Blue squad had a comfortable lead, decided to play it safe and dump the puck into the corner rather than let Dean make a possible save that could change the momentum of the game in Green's favor. A savvy veteran move.
Speaking of Phil; "The Commish" saw his shadown yesterday, which means six more weeks of winter. This is good news for the Black Ice Pond Hockey Championship "make-up date". Yes, Phil came out of Gobbler's Knob and shouted with joy because he will finally gets his chance to play in the Black Ice Pond Hockey tournament.

"The Commish" (pictured above with Vic Stanfield) was ecstatic upon seeing his shadow. Some question what Phil and Vic were doing at a place called "Gobbler's Knob". Speaking of knob; no sign of "Coach" last night. Coach is a huge fan of the word "knob". It was rumored that "Coach" was disappointed with Phil's prediction of six more weeks of winter so he crawled into a cave to hybernate.
The Pucking Files has uncovered the truth about the Tim Thomas White House Snub.

It is reported from an undisclosed source that bad blood was spilled between Thomas and Senator John Kerry in a pick up game in Braintree, Ma. where Thomas apparently took exception to a Kerry goal celebration. Thomas dropped the gloves and landed several right hands to the face of the senator from Massachusetts. Thomas believed that President Obama (an avowed Blackhawks fan) took sides with Kerry and that is the real reason for the White House snub.

Kerry reportedly pulled Thomas's jersey off in the scuffle and refuse to return it to Thomas. He is pictured (above) presenting the jersey to Obama. An angry Thomas told The Pucking Files, "Kerry is a #!%&* pussy who whines like a liberal. He hasn't set foot on the ice since his minor injury. I don't see Taylor Hall missing any games since his injury. Oh, that's right; he's a HOCKEY PLAYER!" OUCH! That hurts Senator.

Check in with The Pucking Files on wednesday for Black Ice updates.