Welcome to Snipe City, a weekly column looking at hockey from 36 Crazyfists singer, Alaska native and huge hockey fan Brock Lindow. 36 Crazyfists’ new album, Time & Trauma, is out now on Spinefarm Records. Read an interview we did with him here.
Advice: When gearing up for a pond hockey tourney and one of the boys asks, “Are you gonna wear elbow pads?,” don’t be a tough guy and opt to not don the said elbow pads. First shift and I toe pick in the corner and 200-plus pounds falls on one left elbow. Yep, that hurts, kids!
It is beginning to look nothing like Christmas around here, as we have had zero snow this winter and the Flyers continue to skid out of control and further from a playoff spot. I find myself deeper into the whiskey tornado of sorrow as the remaining points linger in front of my boys like a baited hook seeking the mouth of a Kenai King!
Well, enough about my personal problems. Let’s drop the puck on this mutha!
The Devils made quick work of Philadelphia on Sunday with a 5-2 victory and my boy Scott Gomez posted his fifth multi-assist performance of the season. The performance brought Gomez’s career assist total with the Devils to 355, allowing him to leapfrog John MacLean for sole possession of third on the Devils’ all-time assists list. Gomez also reached 476 points with the Devils allowing him to tie Scott Niedermayer for fourth on New Jersey’s all-time points list. Atta boy, Gomer!!!
The Boston Bruins scored twice on the power play and twice short handed to run over the Detroit Red Wings at 5-3 for back-to-back victories at TD Garden this weekend and they gained valuable points heading to the playoffs!
I settled in for the Rangers vs. Blackhawks game and both of these teams are headed deep into a playoff run, as they are equally fast and filled with sick-handed forwards. You could definitely see that the Hawks are missing All-Star forward Patrick Kane, but nevertheless it was a great game to watch. Derek Brassard ended the stalemate at 32 seconds into overtime with a slapshot from the left circle to beat Corey Crawford on the short side and give the Rangers a 1-0 victory in OT!
The Governors Cup this weekend didn’t pan out for the UAA Seawolves as had hoped as they dropped both Friday and Saturday night games eventually losing in the shootout on Saturday night to give Fairbanks continued bragging rights as UAF once again hoisted the annual Governor’s Cup, the trophy that signals superiority in Alaska college hockey. A 3-2 victory in the game and 1-0 victory in the tie-breaker shootout was the final nail in the Seawolves season. Congrats to UAF.
This weekend also marked the first annual Pond Hockey Classic at Goose Lake in Anchorage, Alaska. Ten rinks, 100 teams and divisions of all skill levels. I was really excited to get back home and see this tourney unfold and it did not disappoint. Big thanks to Carlos Gomez and the Scotty Gomez Foundation, along with some really great local sponsors, for putting it all together. The weather wasn’t the greatest and the ice was pretty dinged up, but I loved seeing my lumberjack brothers take the ‘ship home for the Elite division as well as my wife’s team winning the co-Ed group to hoist the coveted Ulu!!
The tourney will be something to get excited about for years to come and it would be really cool if it became a feeder tourney for the the nation’s premier outdoor pond hockey tournament in Lake Nokomis, Minnesota.
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The “Fight of the Week” goes to the haymaker fest that was between Jannik Hansen of the Vancouver Canucks and Brendan Dillon of the San Jose Sharks. Dillon damn near ended up in the front row of the mezzanine after he was checked from behind by Hansen and a full-on Donnybrook broke out! Great fight and the crosscheck Dillon put on Hansen to signal the dust-up was a beauty. Winner is Dillon for the redemption he found after the near disaster of flying head first into the boards.
Well, next week Matt from Puck Hcky and I will begin the new chapter of Snipe City and I’m looking forward to the collab!
I’m home this week and sending this week’s column from the snowy peaks of Mt. Alyeska. Gonna get a skate in with the Lumberjack boys this Thursday as well. Lookin’ to go bar down on a few hacks for the fans!!! Okay, I’m totally kidding but I’m good for a couple.
Keep your head up,
Brock
