Ice Dreams

I was about five years old, walking around in the store with my mom, when I spotted a poster of the 1970 Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins behind the counter.  I begged my mother to buy one for me, pleaded.  The storekeeper, thinking he was going to help my mother out and shut me up, told me that if I could name all the players, he'd give it to me.

"Okay, that's Bobby Orr, Dallas Smith, Ed Johnston, Derek Sanderson, Gary Doak, Wayne Cashman, Gerry Cheevers..."

That poster hung in my bedroom for years.

Hockey was a huge part of my life growing up.  The success of the late 60's-early 70's Bruins spawned a youth hockey boom in Massachusetts (and elsewhere), and almost every town in my area had a program.  Every Saturday morning, we were on our way to Rockland or Taunton or Brockton to either practice, scrimmage, or play another town.  In the summers, hockey camp.  Or street hockey.  When the temperatures dropped and the ponds froze, there we went.  Everyone I knew played.  I was a decent player, a very good skater, but not particularly aggressive.  I was a fair defenseman, not much of a forward, but a great goaltender.

As I got older, the boom died down, and my own interests tended towards more creative pursuits (music, writing, theater), and I gave up hockey.  I briefly considered going out for my high school team, but decided against it.  It wasn't until my later years in college that I got the hockey bug again.  My dad and I started going to Providence Bruins games, and following Boston once more.  I got a pair of skates, a stick, some gloves, and a helmet (although I only went out and played once or twice).  I even got a subscription to the Hockey News for a few years.

For the past few years, my mother has given me and my dad Bruins tickets for Christmas.  We go to three games a year.  I guess it's a bonding thing, as my father and I weren't particularly close for a long time.  I often wonder if my turning away from hockey (and sports in general) was some form of rebellion against him.  Maybe, maybe not.  I don't know.

I haven't laced up the skates in a few years, but maybe this year sometime I'll hit up a rink around here somewhere.  Until then, I'll be parked in front of the TV for Bruins games.  I think this is the year for them.  Again.