"Monster Miracle"

As legendary sportscaster Al Michaels said in his lead-in to 1980's epic Olympic hockey clash between USA and USSR, it was an event which simply defied description.

Michaels might as well have been describing my Monday evening on January 4th, 2010.



Thanks to the great people at Dunkin Donuts, I was granted the extraordinary privilege of living out SEVERAL unthinkable dreams simultaneously. First, I stepped foot inside the foul line at Fenway Park (and what you've heard from players and media alike is absolutely true: it really does feel like the stands are "right on top of you" when you're in the center of the diamond). Next, I skated alongside '80 US Gold Medalists Mike Eruzione and Jim Craig at Fenway Park's "Miracle on Ice" event.

On this evening, both Eruzione and Craig could not have been more classy, gracious ambassadors for the game of hockey, the Olympic spirit or Dunkin Donuts. Both legends participated in a Q&A after the skate, passionately advocating for amateur sports while offering their take on the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. The former teammates now devote their lives to speaking and empowering each and every one of us to believe that WE TOO can "slay the dragon". Craig offered a simple message: we all learn MUCH more from defeat than victory.



For an exceptionally deep examination of the social and political context around the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team, watch HBO's documentary "Do You Believe in Miracles?" before this February's 30th anniversary.

Last, a special thank you to @btripp715 for fulfilling my very own impossible dream! "Dream On, Dream On, Dream until your Dreams Come True!" - Aerosmith

37 & 87: Together Again in 2010

They dominated as linemates at the 2005 World Juniors in Grand Forks.

They dominated as linemates at the 2006 World Championships in Riga.

And now in 2010 Winter Olympics Hockey, Patrice Bergeron and Sidney Crosby re-unite to chase Gold for Canada. Sidney is an other worldly talent; he's in a class all by himself. Yet the host nation's roster is deep with other worldclass natural pivotmen: Thornton, E. Staal, M. Richards, and Toews. And the world is now learning what we in Boston have known all along...

Patrice Bergeron BELONGS in that select group.

Throw out any cliche you want. Boston's young center plays 'both ends of the ice', '60 minutes', 'all three zones', 'goes all out' all the time. All of the above. Over the course of Vancouver's Winter Games, hockey fans across the world will come to recognize that #37 belongs in the conversation with contemporaries Jordan Staal and Pavel Datsyuk for the superlative "best all-around center in the game". With any luck, the NHL will honor Bergeron's efforts with a deserved Selke Trophy award nomination, justly putting him in a class of such legendary 2-way greats as Ron Francis, Bob Gainey, Guy Carbonneau, and Bobby Clarke.

Raising Tuukka

Before his days in between Boston's pipes, Tuukka Rask was cultivated slowly by B's brass in hockey's lower ranks. After he was acquired in a 2006 head-scratching straight up swap with Toronto for Andrew Raycroft (!!), the young backstop made the jump to North American pro hockey in '07 after competing in the Finnish Elite League since age 16. Along the way, Rask competed for Finland in three consecutive World Junior Championships, defeating a very unhappy Phil Kessel for the '06 Bronze:

For more on the B's practice of patience regarding Tuukka's development, check out Globalpuck.com.

#Feb6tix Giveaway: Hockey Helping Haiti...

**The giveaway period has closed. Thank you for your support!!**

For a chance to win a FREE pair of balcony row 8 tickets to the Boston vs. Vancouver game on February 6th, complete the following 4 steps:


- Visit Skip1.org and make a modest donation to relief efforts in Haiti (or simply text "yele" ($5) or "haiti" ($10) to 501501)

- Leave a comment below and share what you "Skipped"

- Become a friend of the Globalpuck fanpage on Facebook

- Re-tweet the @HubSpokes #Feb6tix Sweepstakes message 3 times before Tuesday


It's that simple; absolutely no strings attached other than your modest donation. A winner will be drawn at random on Tuesday, February 2nd. Good luck, and go B's!

"Sturmface" Sweepstakes

Simple: Leave a caption for Marco's intense goal face in the form of a comment on this post for a chance to win this absolutely FREE autographed Sturm card below....



Also, contestants must Re-Tweet the following message 5 times before 1/6/10:
#Sturmface #Bruins #nhl http://hubspokes.blogspot.com

Winner will drawn at random and announced on 1/6/10. Good luck, and lets see your best Sturmface!!

Live from Fenway! Random Musings from the Bridgestone Winter Classic Fan Fest

12:30 pm....Picturesque, idyllic, that means dreamlike, right? This morning outside of Fenway Park, the Bridgestone Fan Fest simply defied description! With gently falling snow, its quite simply a winter wonderland, just like a 'snowglobe'! The NHL couldn't have conjured, or planned, a more ideal setting for this celebration....Up on the big screen, a live feed was shown on the plaza jumbotron from practice inside of Fenway....Mark Savard, Zdeno Chara, Shawn Thornton were transformed from grown men into 10 year old boys before our eyes, exuding childlike wonder while skating against the falling snow....Bruins legend Rick "Nifty" Middleton greeted fans as they lined up for interactive games like the Bridgestone accuracy shooting challenge and a bubble hockey tournament. Johnny "The Chief" Bucyk is scheduled to show up at 2:00 pm to celebrate with Winter Classic go'ers down on Yawkey Way. Stay tuned....



2:00 pm....Blake Wheeler did a live outdoor interview on stage with 98.5 The Sports Hub, then declined to sign for his fans. Yet, even that Kessel-like display couldn't even throw a damper on the day and the remarkable energy of good feeling....As flakes continued to fall, everyone on the corner of Yawkey Way and Brookline Ave. couldn't have had a care in the world; at that moment, EVERYTHING in the world was right and utterly perfect....Johnny "The Chief" Bucyk kept the good vibes right on rolling, signing his hand off for Boston fans and tourists alike at the Comcast-Town kiosk. Both "Nifty" and "The Chief" were tremendous ambassadors for the Bruins, the city of Boston, and game of hockey today. Class, ALL the way around. THAT is how its done, gentlemen.

Perhaps Blake Wheeler should take a lesson from a Hall of Famer? Then, MAYBE, he'll actually score one goal in January...


Stay tuned to @HubSpokes on Twitter for live updates.

#37 and #87: Together again in 2010?

For my money, Patrice Bergeron is right there with Sidney Crosby and Mike Richards as Canada's best all-around forwards. Both of those young centermen teamed with Patrice on Canada's record-setting 2005 World Junior Championship gold medal squad. Though competition will be stiff to make the Canadian Olympic roster (especially at the position of "centre"), Bergeron is among the best well rounded pivots in the game of hockey at the moment. He's tremendous at winning faceoffs, creating plays, and shutting down top opposing forwards. A truly invaluable jackknife center cut from the mold of Bob Gainey, Guy Carbonneau, and Ron Francis, Team Canada General Manager Steve Yzerman would do well to find a roster spot for Patrice in Vancouver next February.

I'm starting the hashtag #Patrice2010 on Twitter to support his nomination!

Is 2010 "Tuukka Time"....already?

The Finnish Phenom has been knocking on the Bruins' door for some time now.

In November, that phenom kicked down the door!! There's no ignoring Tuukka Rask any more. And with his stellar production at less than $1 million per season, some Boston media members speculate that Tim Thomas' new $20 million contract is now expendable.

Tuukka is "the future", but will "the future" arrive early in 2010?

#91 is BACK!

WELCOME BACK, SAVVY!

B's fans: Aren't you just thrilled that Marc Savard is back in the lineup? Enter the HubSpokes "Welcome Back, Savvy" Sweepstakes for this FREE autographed collectors plaque complete with #91's Canadian junior rookie card! That's right: FREE (no purchase necessary).

To enter: just leave a comment on this post about why it's awesome having Marc back on the ice and re-tweet the following message on Twitter 5 times:

RT @HubSpokes #Bruins fans, enter the "Welcome Back, Savvy" Sweepstakes: http://hubspokes.blogspot.com #nhl

It's that simple. Winner will be drawn at random on November 30th; only the winner will be notified. Good luck and WELCOME BACK, SAVVY!!

The B's Week Ahead (and Beyond)....

HubSpokes Vlog On...THE POWER PLAY